BadBlood on Poker

Searching For A Moment Like This

2011-12-20T22:14:00.001-05:00

Race Report

2011-12-12T13:01:00.001-05:00

Twelve miles were almost complete and I was running the best half marathon of my life. That's kind of a joke - it was only my 2nd and the odds were with me for it to be my best. Then I felt them coming. Cramps. In both of my calves. Not the entire muscle, but small strands of fibres near the center of the back of my lower leg. "No, not now," I thought, "Not now."

It was 4pm on Sunday, December 4th, and I was sitting at a 2/5 NL game at the Aria casino. I'd been in Vegas for about a day and a half and had perhaps 1 beer and 2 glasses of wine. I was as relaxed as I could be before a race for which I'd trained 3 months. Our group, no, our Team had planned to meet 1 hour before the race at 4:30 to grab a shuttle to the starting line near Mandalay Bay. Otis, G-Rob, Dan, Chako and myself changed into our gear and met near the poker room exit. I was anxious, I wanted to be at the starting line now and begin to stretch. Our team didn't worry about getting there on time, that is until we had been standing in the shuttle line with about 300 other people waiting for a bus that would never come.

I don't like expending any energy before an important race. But in order to get to the starting line on time, we all realized we'd have to walk the mile and a half to get there. We left the Aria at about 4:50pm, it was going to be close, but we should have been able to arrive on time. Along the way, though, police stopped us from crossing the street so that the full marathon race leaders had a clear road. Another delay.

By the time we reached the starting gate, the mass of humanity 33,000 strong prevented us from making any headway towards our assigned starting corrals. Before our team split, Dan grouped us together and reiterated the fact that we were all very lucky just to be able to participate. That had some calming effect on me, but I was still jittery. I gave Otis a hug, wished him luck, and crammed my way into corral #4. The starting gun went off before I even got inside. I was pissed. I hadn't stretched, I hadn't checked my bag and I just realized that I put my water belt on upside down. The two bottles of fluid I was going to run with were long gone and I began to panic just a little. I turned on my GPS watch and watched in dismay as its inability to find a signal magnified my anger. How would I ever be able to prove my finishing time to anyone, let alone, myself?

As you may be aware, I'm an engineer. It's my job to solve problems. That mode of thinking took over and I made some adjustments. First, I took everything I wasn't willing to lose out of my check-in bag. And then I just tossed it to the ground. I got my iPod ready and would simply use the total elapsed song duration to determine my race time. For fluids, I'd just have to use the aid stations throughout the race. For my running pace, I'd use feel. That's one thing I'm pretty good at - determining my pace based on effort, stride and tempo. I said to myself, "Don't let this petty shit ruin your race for you." So when my corral moved to the gate and got ready to run, I did a mental reboot and hit play on my iPod as soon as the gun went off.

It's not my favorite song by any means, but ever since it randomly started my first 10k that I ever ran, I use it to start every race that's longer than 6 miles. Broken, Beat, and Scarred. Three minutes into the song, my GPS watch acquired a signal. I didn't hit start on the watch timer just yet. I'd wait until the first song was over, then I could simply add the duration of that song to my overall time. The first water station came up and I took a drink I'd not normally take. And then I just simply tried to run the race I'd trained for, all the while making sure to soak up the atmosphere of the Vegas Strip at night.

There were some minor logistical obstacles to overcome. For one, even though they group your corrals by anticipated finish time, there's nobody to enforce that rule. I must have passed several hundred people in the first few miles, even a couple of walkers. That's simply unacceptable and dangerous. If you want to walk a race, that's fine, but don't do it at the peril of the runners behind you.

The first 6 or 7 miles were easy. I was running too fast, that much was certain, but I didn't care. I would just slow down if I needed to. I absorbed myself fully into my playlist. It was carefully crafted especially for this race. It had a couple of slower, less intense songs at the mid-way point so that the end was pure extreme metal intensity. I do recall having enough energy to sing along to Firewind's Set the World on Fire during mile 8. I hope nobody heard me though.

During my training for this race, the point at which my muscles and joints would begin to rebel against my wishes would occur later and later into each run. It was at mile 9 that this point hit me during this race and I slowed down a bit. It was my slowest mile of the race and I found it a bit difficult to resume my earlier pace. But difficulty is a relative term. My trials and tribulations were nothing compared to those of my friend.

The Thursday before I left for Vegas, I got a text from Otis' brother Dr. Jeff. "Mom and I are forcing Brad to Vegas to finish what he started. Take care of him for me." I was surprised, since I thought there was no way Otis would go to Vegas. I was also excited, he was part of our team that trained hard for this moment. That he would be a part of it after all that happened was great news. I was also honored.

Thinking of Otis is all it took for me to resume my race, even as my hamstring throbbed and my ankle ached. Ignore the pain, that's all I have to do. My GPS watch went from an 8:02 pace back to about 7:45. Good enough to set my personal best. My music did the rest.

Until the cramps hit.

I adjusted my stride hoping they'd go away. I ran with more of a flat footed step hoping to minimize the strain on my calves. It seemed to work, until I had to move laterally to pass someone; then they'd begin again. I knew I'd need sustenance, so I forced down another package of something called Gu that I'd picked up at an aid station. "Please be enough to stop the cramps," I begged. I'm not sure how quickly I could digest and process that something called Gu, but perhaps psychologically I convinced myself that it helped.

It didn't, the cramps came back midway through mile 13 and I was really thinking I'd have to walk. I turned towards the crowd for some reason. I can't really explain why I did just then. I'd not looked at the crowd the entire race prior to then. One head stool tall and over those people around him. "Hey, I know him." It was Drizz. I turned and pointed to him, music still blaring through my headphones. A group of about 15-20 bloggers saw me and began to cheer. Amazing. Truly an amazing feeling that will stick with me for the rest of my life. I'm not exaggerating. Fuck the cramps, I'm running through them. Powered by that simple gesture of friends watching and cheering, I crossed the finish line. Not knowing that the chip time was being recorded for me throughout the race, I calculated my finish time by adding song #1 of my playlist to my GPS timer. It came out to roughly 1:41, a personal best by 7 minutes.

To everyone who was there for me throughout the weekend, thank you very much. The race was part of a weekend that redefined what's important to me.

I think the best thing you can do for someone is simply be there when you're needed. You don't have to do much, most people don't need a lot of support. Small, little things matter. A cheer, a hug, a few minutes of converstation, a big bag of Stella....

Any support that's freely and willingly given to a friend is magnified a thousand-fold by its recipient. Trust me.

Exercise - Some Thoughts

2011-12-08T16:59:00.002-05:00

I was honored last weekend to be part of a group of runners who dedicated their time and effort to complete the Las Vegas half marathon with me. Many of these folks were running the longest they'd ever run before on that day and they all finished. One of the more common topics of conversation that I overheard afterwards was how being there to cheer on others had motivated them to either resume or begin training themselves. That's outstanding.

So, if I may be so bold, let me relay a few tips to those of you considering beginning a training program, be it running or simply a general fitness routine. Many people start them, and as we all know, not as many people continue with them.

Consistency - This is the absolute, number one thing to remember. Be consistent. Try your best to make working out not something you feel you have to do, but something you want to do. Make it a part of your lifestyle, just like having breakfast. Yes, it takes time and effort; but you don't have to workout every day. Start out slow and get used to the extra things you'll need to do to make working out easier, i.e. the extra laundry you'll need to do, the extra packing you'll need to do each morning before you go to work.

(Tip: If you work out after work, DO NOT go home first. If you think you'll head home after work and then go back out to the gym, you'll highly likely not make it. Go straight from work to the gym, and then go home.)

Plan is a plan - Find someone to help with your plan. A co-worker who works out, a trainer at the gym, hell, you can even email me if you want and I'll answer as best as I can. But remember this - it's just a "plan." You may have to deviate from it at times, so don't EVER get discouraged because you either missed a short-term workout goal, regressed in your training a step, or flat-out missed a work out. Make concessions in your plan so that you'll have a back up. Shorten your workout if you need to, a shorter one is better than none at all. Switch off-days if you need to. If you have to miss a workout, make it up on one of your rest days. Even if you flat out miss a week or longer due to travel, do NOT give up. Understand that it's a small step backwards, but you're still on a plan to move forward.

Coming Back from a break - To me, this is the NUMBER 1 cause for people to fall off the work out wagon. Look, you'll get sick. You'll have unexpected travel. You will miss a workout, even several, through no fault of your own. You need to find the mental discipline to resume your program after a break. It's very mentally discouraging to make good progress by being consistent for months at a time and then see it diminish because you're missing workouts. So what? Get back to the gym as soon as you can. It's difficult, I know. Just don't quit.

Enjoy - You should really at some point look forward to working out. It shouldn't suck. If it did, who would ever do it? Find something to make it fun. Honestly, healthy, physically fit people are fun to look at in tight clothing. I'm a male pig, and seeing a nice young woman in tight workout clothes is a motivator to me. I'm sorry. It's because I'm a pig. I understand that. If you're lucky enough to have a friend as a workout partner, that can make things enjoyable too. When GRob and Otis began doing long runs on Saturdays with me these past few months, it made a mundane run very much something to look forward to.

Compare you to you - Lastly, don't ever compare yourself to someone else. You're not them. You don't have their genetics, you don't respond to training like they do, you don't process foods the same way they do, you're not their age, you're simply not them. Everyone can find someone more fit than they are. I can find tons of guys stronger, faster (Dan), more lean, more proportional, more everything. Don't let that keep you from working out. Keep a log if you can, and in a year, compare yourself to what you were doing a year prior. You'll be amazed at YOUR progress. You get to keep it and nobody can take it away from you. Think about that.

If you decide to do something with respect to working out, start today. Don't wait for January 1st. Do it today. There's nothing stopping you. And if you choose to do something, consider how lucky you are to be able to. Dan's advice to us runners this year is the best advice I've ever had. "Consider how lucky we all are to be able to run today." There are millions of people who can't.

John Arch

2011-10-19T20:22:00.002-05:00

Can a single song make you a legend? In some instances, yes. As long as you define legend within a particular community.

Perhaps some of you have heard of the band Fates Warning. Back in the mid-eighties, they were the definition of progressive metal. They were Dream Theater before there was Dream Theater. With one EP and two full length albums, aptly titled The Spectre Within and Awaken the Guardian, they had solidified themselves within a niche and they had no equal.

Their vocalist was extremely talented and also extremely unique. You either loved his style or you didn't. I fell into the former category and the song that sealed it for me was the one that sealed it for many others too. The track Guardian from Awaken the Guardian remains a song that will forever have a place in my heart and soul as sheer metal genius. Here it is:

Inexplicable, at least to me, Fates Warning changed vocalists after Awaken the Guardian. Not that I disliked John Arch's replacement, it was still with some disappointment that I'd not hear more sweeping, melodic vocals from him. Ray Alder proved to be excellent in his own right, but the distinctive timbre of John Arch was gone.

As a reference, here's the first single from Fates Warning's No Exit album featuring Ray on vocals. It's good, but it's different.

Fast forward 25 years. After an EP called Twist of Fate in 2003, John Arch has once again rejoined most of the members of early Fates Warning and released Sympathetic Resonance with Jim Matheos. I immediately purchased it upon hearing the familiar vocals. It's like John Arch never left.

Prevail

2011-09-03T12:58:00.002-05:00

I'd just run 4.7 miles out of 6.2. I was giving the race 100% of my effort. But I knew there was a hill coming. It was the hill I had run down to start the race and the return trip was certainly going to be difficult. Still, I put my head down and pushed forward.

I saw some lights. It was an intersection that looked just like the place where the race began. The start of the race, the end of the hill. I couldn't see my race watch, this was a night race, so I had no idea how long I'd been running back up the hill.

I approached a street light, it was bright enough to illuminate my watch so I could see the numbers. I looked down expecting to see 6.0 miles and mentally prepared myself for the last 0.2 miles of downhill sprinting towards the finish line.

My watch said 5.5 miles.

Not 6.0.

It was crushing. Pain tightened in my left side. Stitches, they call them side stitches. It's like a cramp, but not really. They do hurt though. I was slightly demoralized knowing I had another half mile to go up the hill.

Another street light came. 5.72 miles on the watch. I had a half mile to go and I wanted to beat my previous time. It was at this point I knew I was going to need some help.

I unlocked my iPod nano. I skipped directly to this song on the playlist. I then lost myself in a sea of effort, pain, drive, and focus. If you've ever been to that place in your mind, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, I simply can't explain it. I crossed the finish line at 46:00 even, propelled by the crushing sounds coming through my headphones.

Everyone ends up dead. It's just a matter of when.

The Anger Phase of Denial

2011-06-29T11:51:00.002-05:00

It's all over the major poker news sites, but in case you hadn't heard, the Alderney Gaming Commission suspended the license agreement they had with Full Tilt Poker and as such, Full Tilt Poker is no longer operating. Whether they choose to reopen with another license or reopen without one at all is still unclear at this time.

My real reason for posting this is to ask a question. Who knew this was going to happen and when did they know it? This applies to BOTH the events of today and to those of Black Friday when the USDOJ forced Full Tilt, Pokerstars and UB/AP to close their doors to the American public.

In my opinion, there are pieces of data that when added up together, point to the conclusion that there were some people that knew in advance that there was trouble ahead.

My hypothesis is this:

Even though the documents were sealed, someone had inside knowledge up to a year in advance that the 3 major sites would eventually get shut down for US-based players. As such, several short-term money grabs were put into place for this eventuality. After all, if your long-term business model becomes unviable, then get as much out in the short-term as you can.

- Both Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth do NOT have their contracts renewed with UB.com prior to Black Friday. Coincidence? Maybe.
- Full Tilt Poker introduces Rush Poker. While certainly fun to play (I put in my hours), Rush Poker is simply an accelerated rake extraction device for the cash game players.
- Full Tilt Poker introduces Multi-Entry tournament options. The notion of having multiple accounts to enter MTT's multiple times becomes a non-issue and Full Tilt earns far more on a per tournament basis than before. Again, this is an accelerated rake extraction device.
- More subtely, but still concerning to me, the electronics section of the Full Tilt store was out of stock for months on their top-tier items. To me, this was concerning because they had no motivation or priority to renew the Apple line of iPods and MacBooks once Apple issued updates.
- After Black Friday, a user on 2+2 named Deuc3s posted the following text:
"Full Tilt will announce its to default on american payements (sic) on 29th of June. Shortly after that they are to close." This again could be coincidence, some fear monger getting lucky with a guess, but the date was exactly correct. This user claimed to be a former employee.

Nowhere in the above do I mention anything about Pokerstars. Why? Well, from what I've seen out of that organization, they've operated with the most integrity and transparency of any online poker company. They've earned my respect and trust even though I'll no longer be able to play on that site ever again.

I'm most disappointed with Full Tilt. They were literally sitting on a gold mine and managed to fuck it up. That takes a unique combination of incompetence and greed to achieve. Worse yet is to think of what all our rake went towards. Hundreds of millions of dollars in rake went to a few dozen pros and company executives who right now don't give a rat's ass what happens to their former customers.

Tom Dwan, Durrr, based on his Twitter feed seems to be the only active and reasonable voice thus far, but even he can't do much for the player base currently holding an empty bag. If it comes to light that some of the players like Howard Lederer and Chris Ferguson were making significant day to day policy decisions for that company, then I'll be even more angry than I am now.

My $4000 is gone and highly likely gone for good. I no longer care about that because there's nothing that I can do about it. What I want now is justice. I want these incompentent, greedy fools to do jail time. The worst thing you can do to me is take advantage of me. And that's exactly what has happened. Yes, I'm an adult and chose to play on Full Tilt while I could. I received rake back, I received advertising dollars and I willingly wore FTP branded hoodies and t-shirts. But that was because I trusted that my money was safe on the site.

Every last one of the Full Tilt Pros should be ashamed right now for associating themselves with a company who effectively scammed tens of thousands of poker players and enthusiasts who bought into their hype. They lived the high life, getting paid millions with not only the rake we willingly generated, but also with our deposits. I was stolen from and I'll never forget it.

I look forward to these cowards and thieves claiming ignorance, that they did not know the details and inner workings of the company's accounting practices. Sorry, I don't care and that's no excuse. I've held off from being angry for months, trying to give Full Tilt the benefit of the doubt.

That's the last thing I'll give them.

(I can't remove my FTP ad from here at work, but it will be the first thing I do when I get home.)

Running to Metal

2011-06-07T21:35:00.002-05:00

I signed up for the Las Vegas Half Marathon on December 4th. It's a Sunday, the race is at night and it goes down the Strip. Pretty cool. Joining me will be G-Rob, Otis, Dr. Chako and Poker Peaker. It will be kick ass. Not unlike the new metal I got to download due to me signing up. It is after all, a Rock 'n Roll marathon.

My 5 free downloads were:

This riff seriously destroys:

This was Slayer's opening at Big 4:

Cool opening riff, cool video if not a little campy:

Another big 4 tune:

New In Flames coming soon:

And. And! Bonus song for the folks who need to understand the vocals. Do you hear any Blue Oyster Cult in here? I kind of do.

Never Trust A Junkie

2011-05-06T15:33:00.003-05:00

It had been 20 days since I played a hand of online poker. But I was OK with that. Perhaps just somewhat, but OK nonetheless. I figured I'd simply increase my live poker play and as such would go to the wormhole PLO game a bit more often. But what is it they say about the best laid plans?

Evidence for the existence of wormholes has yet to be discovered. But if theoretical astro-physics is correct, apparently they are truly unstable constructs. My wormhole vanished. And by vanished, I mean shutdown by the local authorities. Unfortunately, PLO wasn't the only game that was running there. The trouble magnets known as video poker machines triggered this bust, and luckily for me, I wasn't there. Oh, I would have been. But thankfully Dr. Chako was coming to town for the mudrun and I had to stay near my house to pick him up.

"No PLO for you," said the imaginary poker Nazi, and he was right. If I were still planning on playing a PLO event at this year's WSOP, then where on Earth would I get practice?

Just one fix....

Browsing the 2+2 forums, I noticed that some US-facing sites were still in business. Was it risky to get involved with them now? You betcha. How much was I willing to risk? Well, perhaps the amount of my PokerStars check that I'm due to receive. On April 15th, I really expected my funds to simply vanish, so substituting one site's balance for another wasn't all too intimidating. And after reading more and more about it, I made a decision.

I chose Lock Poker.

I'm not an affiliate nor do I receive any benefits from sharing the following information. (edit: Actually, you can apply for an account at TheNuts.com using the bonus code BadBlood if you'd like. No worries if you don't.) I'm just doing it in case there are other readers out there who need their online fix and are willing to take a risk with a smaller site. They're on the Merge network and my hopes are that the US DOJ is too busy being involved with their current targets to take note of some of the minor sites. Again, it's a hope, and it could easily be that I've just set money on fire by depositing. But if you want to know, here's how I did it.

First, I went to TheNuts.com and signed up there. Why? Well they have a promotion going where if you sign up with them and use the bonus code THENUTSIPAD2 (verify, I'm not 100% sure that's correct, going off the top of my head), you will receive the following:

35% rakeback
a free iPad2 if you clear $1000 in rake in the first 60 days of play.

I believe this offer expires May 31st.

So I signed up, downloaded the software (Mac compatible too!), and tried to deposit.

...and utterly failed.

Back to the 2+2 forums I went and after some more research, I had heard that there were successful deposits if you chose the CASINO option in the Lock Software to deposit. Once successful, you could transfer from the casino to the poker room and begin playing.

So I tried that.

...and utterly failed.

I tried 3 VISA credit cards (WARNING: DON'T TRY CREDIT CARDS) and 1 VISA DEBIT card. The next day I was greeted with emails and phone calls from each card's fraud department. Fantastic. I was resolved to try the Western Union option and if that failed, simply hang my head in disgust and failure.

However, after speaking with my debit card's department, after confirming that it was me who attempted the purchase, the agent said that the charge should go through the next time I tried it. So I went home and tried one last time.

...and it worked.

However, by depositing with the Casino side, I wasn't able to enter the bonus code to entitle me to the free iPad2. A man needs goals afterall. So a quick email to support@lockpoker.com seemed to rectify the situation. Also, if you remember Rizen (Eric Lynch), he's a representative for Lock and is active over at 2+2. I PM'd him my details too just to be sure and he got back to me the next day with a reply. Outstanding.

And so off I went. By my calculations, I'll need to play about 12,000 hands of .25/.50 PLO to qualify for the iPad2. I'll be getting rakeback the whole time too, so my first $1000 in rake will yield about $850 back in my hands in either cash or, best of all, TECH GADGETS!!!

So there it is. Back online. For how long? Who knows. Will there be difficulties in the future with this endeavor? Highly likely there will be. Am I willing to take that risk right now? Well, apparently the answer is a resounding yes.

I need help.

Big 4, Quick and Dirty

2011-04-25T13:16:00.001-05:00

Big Four Bulletized

Left G-Vegas at 5 am to get to the airport. 10 minutes into the flight, attendent says we're returning to the airport due to a "problem." 10 minutes after that, apparently they changed their mind and we continued towards Houston.

Got to LAX on time, but couldn't hook up with Al due to being in different terminals. We each took a cab to union station. For $60. "Tactical error," Al would say later.

Took another cab to JoeSpeaker's house. Nobody was home, but beer was in fridge and full bottle of SoCo was on table. Al and I immediately started drinking, listening to metal on my iPod and playing Big Deuce. This was just a tutorial however.

Speaker got home and we went to pick up StB. Since we were all hungry, we went to Hooters where I told them it was my birthday. Mistake. Had to wear a tin foil hat in the shape of an elephant. We also continued to drink.

Got to rented condo - it was outstanding. Drank more. Then at midnight local time, crashed. Missed a call from BG. Dang.

Friday, StB drove Speaker to his golf appointment. He came back with breakfast food. We ate. We drank more beer. We took a nap on a hammock next to girls in bikinis. It was sunny. It was California. Perfectly content.

Picked up Speaker from golf and had more drinks in the clubhouse. Rode dirty. Al took the day off from drinking, had to work, so the 3 of us went to Casino Agua Caliente. They had a poker room with about 10-12 tables. StB played 1/3, Speaker played the $100 donkament and I played 2/5. I drank several RBV's. Won a good amount of money and then spent it. Elsewhere.

Woke up Saturday and planned for the concert. Got a cab to take us there and walked into VIP area. The extra $100/ticket for VIP access was worth about 3 times that. Had food. Had beer. Saw Anthrax walk by. Speaker took a picture of Scott Ian's back.

We were very close to the stage and felt some pity for the huddled masses behind the VIP fence. You couldn't pay me to stand there for 8 hours. I am old.

Anthrax came on. Scott Ian appeared to appreciate every moment. StB won the prop bet when they opened with Caught in a Mosh. Their set highlight for me was Indians. "Mosh part" got the pit going right next to us. Great start.

Megadeth was next. Mustaine was less conversational than Joey Belladonna, appeared more focused on the music. Fine with me. Chris Broderick, their new guitarist, was probably the most talented guitarist among all the bands from a purely musical perspective. He simply crushed Marty Friedman's solos during Hangar 18 with effortless precision. They closed with Holy Wars / Punishment due which was downright amazing.

Slayer was next. I was convinced they'd open with War Ensemble, JoeSpeaker's pick. However, they went with new stuff and launched into War Painted Blood. My jaw dropped at their level of tightness. Jeff Hanneman was replaced by Exodus' Gary Holt and was more than up to the task. Kerry King stole the show for me. He was a machine and simply pounded out each song with a precision and speed that needed to be seen to be believed. Jeff Hanneman was however there, and played the last 2 songs and delivered during the finale, Angel of Death.

Metallica had a lot to live up to. Did they? Maybe. Kirk Hammett seemed sloppy early, especially compared to Kerry King's performance. Hetfield was solid, opening with Creeping Death to earn JoeSpeaker prop bet money. They played a decent selection of songs from most of their albums. Disappointed to hear Fuel and Nothing Else Matters, but what are you going to do. It was however, more than made up for when they did Orion in its entirety. Eight minute instrumentals at a metal concert are rare.

As they did in Europe, they did Am I Evil with musicians from all 4 bands on stage, then closed with Seek and Destroy. We cabbed it back to the condo and made a late night Taco Bell run. I am living with that decision still today.

Overall, the weekend was just about perfect. Al, Speaker and StB - you guys were fantastic to hang out with all weekend. It honestly couldn't have gone better. Well, except for the drive from Indio to LAX on Sunday. I'll call that my tactical error for the weekend. Thanks again to you 3 for everything, I wouldn't change a thing.

Good Mourning

2011-04-18T09:17:00.001-05:00

Before I get any personal ranting and whining done, I'd like to first off say that my plight pales in comparison to a lot of other really good people. There are so many talented friends out there whose future is uncertain. I'd like to express to them that I wish them to best of luck as we all ride out the waves of uncertainty that follow from this past Black Friday. It may take a while, but my bet is that these folks will eventually land on their feet and be back up and running in a better spot than they have been the last few years. The transition will probably be painful, but the hard work and dedication that those folks have employed in the past will only translate into success in the future.

****

I was in the parking lot at Trader Joe's. My parents were in town and I had just taken them for Thai food at my favorite local spot (Sweet Basil) and we were picking up some odds and ends to snack on. I got a Google Chat message from Otis' friend T, which was vague. He doesn't play poker, but sent me a link to Pokerstars with the words Uh-oh. My phone (HTC Thunderbot, FTW!) browsed to the page immediately and found no problem. I asked him some more questions and he mentioned that the site had been taken down by the FBI. Off to 2+2 I went for the ugly confirmation.

Domain name seizures had happened before, so I didn't necessarily panic immediately. As the day wore on, more and more information came to light. With the .com domains hijacked, none of the Full Tilt client software's functionality NOT related to actual game play worked. No Iron Man status page, no Full Tilt store (not that there was anything good in there electronic-wise of late), no ability to transfer (sorry Drizz), nothing except an ability to sit at a table and play.

I realized making a withdrawal request was meaningless, so I took perhaps some equally meaningless screenshots of my account balance while I still could. How badly was I hit? A decent amount, probably about $4500 in cash and close to $900 in player point equity. Can I live without it if worst comes to worst? Yes, but I sure as hell don't want to. It is after all entirely my money and there is nothing I did illegally to acquire it. One thing I do know is that I'm not the person with the most at stake. There are others with much larger online balances to worry about. Will we ever get our balances back? Tom Dwan and Phil Galfond think so, having publicly stated their willingness to pay $1 million each if Tilt and Stars don't. As confidence inspiring as that is, it's still no guarantee. I think our most hopeful option is a Netteller-like payback time frame, 6-12 months of our money being in limbo and then a grace period where the players get their money back risk free. The alternative is that it vanishes forever.

****

Since my parents were in town, the pain of not being able to play online was somewhat minimized. But as reality sunk in, so did the withdrawal symptoms. What on Earth was I going to do with all this free time that I just acquired? I wasn't exactly sure. Most of my tech gadgets and buying decisions were centered around the ability to play online poker where ever and when ever I wanted to. Netbook, check. Ability to tether to my phone, check. Now what do I do with those things? I'm at a loss.

I'll obviously up my live play a bit. I had retired on Monday nights due to sleep deprivation and being over-tired for my weekday workouts. But now, with no online play to compensate for foregoing a live game, I'll find a way to struggle through. I'll also host more. In fact, I'm trying to host a game tonight as I type this. And if that doesn't go? Well, the PLO game I've blogged about runs on Monday's too. I have a sickness.

****

When all the dust clears, I feel that online poker will come back to the U.S. albeit in a slightly different form. It may take a year or more to do so, but there's too much money available for it not to happen. Dear Harrah's, get your shit together. You now have access to hundreds of thousands of players with no viable alternative option. I think we all knew that with Stars and Tilt offering services to American players, no U.S. company was going to invest a lot of money in developing a site knowing full well they'd be playing an unwinnable catch up game with respect to player base and marketing. Now, not only is the playing field leveled, it's stacked entirely in their favor. So much so that they can take their sweet time in providing the next alternative.

I just wish they'd hurry the hell up before my mouse-clicking finger withers with a sad, all too pathetic form of atrophy.

2011 WSOP Plans

2011-04-05T09:16:00.002-05:00

In case anyone was wondering (I know most of you were biting your nails in anticipation), I will once again be making my way to Las Vegas this summer to try my luck at the small buy-in PLO tournament currently scheduled for June 13th. Interestingly, Day 1 of this tournament is on a Monday, which will likely mean that I'll make my travel plans such that I arrive in Vegas on a Saturday and leave on a Thursday. That departure date is obviously planning for success. It's also a pipe-dream, but that's what us low-limit grinders do. Dream about pipes. Maybe not. I have tried to play as much PLO this year as I could, both live and online. As I've mentioned previously, I had a good amount of success at the $25 buy-in tables, the bulk of that play occurring on the Rush Poker tables over at Full Tilt, which, needless to say is one of the best online poker sites currently available. Oddly, there are very few $50 Rush PLO players, so when I moved up, I jumped into the $100 Rush games. I've had some winning sessions, but through a combination of bad luck and bad play (what else is there?), the swings of PLO at the $100 level were too much for my bankroll. So lately, I've focused on the normal ring $50 buy-in tables. Grind, grind away. With respect to live play, well, you've hopefully read the post 2 below this one. That game is somewhat of an anomoly, playing completely different to 6-handed online play. Stylistically, one doesn't necessarily support the other, however there are some concepts that can be applied across the board. Other games I've played, there has been some mixing in of PLO and PLO8, usually every 3rd orbit. This turns out to be a good mix and it's one that I'll employ at my next home game this Friday (new suited speed cloth FTW!). So if you'll be at the 2011 WSOP around the same time, let me know. I'd love to drown my bust-out sorrows at the Rio with you, maybe even hit quad Aces again to dull some of the pain. More information about the 2011 WSOP can be found here: http://www.bestonlinepokersites.com/wsop/2011-wsop/

Metal Monday

2011-04-04T20:45:00.002-05:00

Riff of the year, 2010:

Live from the same band (just posting this because I'm getting geared up for the Big 4 concert and this gets me in the mood to drink and crush).

Search For The Grail

2011-03-04T09:13:00.002-05:00

A friend recently told me I'm a natural pessimist. He's right of course. Rather than look forward to something with great anticipation, I tuck it away in a neutral spot in my brain so that if whatever it is turns out to be fun, I'll be pleasantly surprised. I don't get let down that way. You'd think, anyway.

Over the past few weeks, I'd been told by The Mark about a live PLO game. When you're The Mark, you always hear about new games. It's your job. Playing, recruiting players, it's all the same package deal. "What are the stakes?" I asked. "5/5," he said, "But how could live players be any good?" It was tough for me to answer that question since I had no other information about the game. So I tucked it away between Reverse and Drive and figured if the time was ever right to play in the game, I'd let The Mark know.

Last Sunday, I told him I could play.

****

We met after work at an old stomping ground. No longer Azia's, the scene of Mastadon 2010 was still basically the same. The new owner appeared to have purchased everything from the previous one. Same utensils, same glassware, perhaps even the same chefs since the menu wasn't much different. A new smiling face greeted me as I sat at the bar next to The Mark, already knee deep in 4-tabling Rush Poker on Full Tilt.

"Hello, I'm Ashley," she said. She smiled, poured me a beer, and immediately earned a spot as one of my new favorite bartenders. It had nothing to do with her skin tight leggings or low-cut, revealing top. Nothing at all. I'm a sucker in case you didn't know. I have it tattooed on my forehead, but only a select few people can see it.

I opened my netbook, logged onto Full Tilt as well, and began the simple quest of obtaining enough points to qualify for Iron Man. Rush PLO, $100 buy-in. Get it in good, get it out bad. Standard. Mike Myers found his way to the new place and sat down to my right. He may have been some form of good luck to me as a flopped King's full held up against someone overplaying AA. I was profitable, got my points, and began to relax. Winning, or shall we say, not losing credit card roulette almost made me think I was going to enjoy myself tonight. Ha. Not so fast said the pessimist.

****

It was growing late, and The Mark was still trying to earn enough qualifying points on Full Tilt as well. I had doubts of ever getting to this supposed juicy PLO game. The Mark had never been, and couldn't even say with full confidence where the game was. I asked him to call whoever he knew at the game to see if there were seats. I wasn't about to drive 30 minutes and sit around. He was assured there would be seats for us. The dreaded "House Players" would get up and allow us to sit when we got there. Again, doubt grew. But I didn't care too much. I was up online and if worst came to worst, there were other places I could spend my money on a Thursday night.

****

When we pulled into the driveway, after twice stopping and turning around, it reminded me of the old Spring Hotel setup. Except that when we rolled around the final bend in the dirt road, we were greated with what appeared to be a wooden loft, nearly luxurious in nature, with wide and high front steps leading up into the game. I had absolutely no idea what town I was even in. It was like I drove through a wormhole that took me from the back woods of South Carolina into an Aspen-like ski town in Colorado. The only thing missing was the snow. We were greeted by the host and as I looked around, it appeared that The Mark and myself dropped the average age of the room by about 10 years.

****

When you play live poker, you wonder about other games. How many games are there truly in town? Is there a mystical game somewhere, filled with endless supplies of money and hopeless players, ripe for the taking? Professional players in Vegas will drive to LA to play with whales. So I guess it's not much of a stretch for me me drive 40 minutes from my house for this game. It was THAT good.

****

A poker hand. What good is a blog post without a poker hand?

The game was actually 2/5/10. The winner of the previous pot was forced to straddle for $10. You could straddle any amount from any position after that. Even with those rules, there were several flops seen multi-way for the minimum $10. This was one such pot. I was the big blind with A885, suited Ace in clubs, otherwise known as a PLO MONSTER!. The flop came A84, two diamonds. Normally middle set is a bankroll buster, at least it tends to be for me online against competent players. But that's not where I was. This was about as off-line as one could get.

I led for $40. Even these folks would raise pre-flop with AA and I had a blocker in my hand to boot. I got 4 callers. Wow, I said to myself, I truly am going to go broke with middle set. Pessimism. For the win.

The turn was an off-suit Jack and since no draws were completed, I fired $175 into the pot. I got 2 callers. Toast. I'm toast, I said to myself. Good thing I brought a few bullets to reload after I butcher this hand. The pot was nearly $800 and I only had $145 left in my stack. I suppose I could check-fold to a diamond, but sheesh, even that's a horrible play. The river was another Jack, I caught an underfull. Online, I go broke every time to AJ. Every time. Still, I pushed the remainder of my chips into the pot and got called. Sigh, here it comes. It's just how I roll.

"Eights full," I said sheepishly. He looked down at his cards, messed with them a bit, and I prepared for my slow-roll. Four random cards hit the table and the best I could see was KK. No diamonds. "I was hoping for a King to hit," he said. Dumbstruck, all I could say was, "I'm surprised it didn't."

"Nice hand," The Mark said to me. It was code for "Holy Mother of Fuck is this game amazing!" He was right, it was.

****

Players went broke, rebought, and began to open straddle for $100. The Mark reloaded another G-Bar into his stack and play resumed. My stack went up and down, but I managed to cash out for a win. This was it. This was the game you heard about, whispered about even, for fear that uttering its name would cause it to vanish back into its wormhole only to appear in another random, unknown location.

If you asked me to drive you there right this second, I wouldn't be able to. It was dark, and I only got home thanks to my GPS. So how will I ever get back?

Optimism.

I try

2011-02-13T13:45:00.002-05:00

http://twodimes.net/poker/?g=o&b=Ks+8h+7h&d=&h=5h+Th+Ah+Ad%0D%0AJs+3h+Qh+Kh%0D%0A8s+9c+Ts+8c

http://twodimes.net/poker/?g=o&b=Js+5d+8c+7c&d=&h=7h+6s+Jh+Kc%0D%0ATc+Qs+9c+7d

http://twodimes.net/poker/?g=o&b=Kh+Td+2h+Jd&d=&h=4s+7d+Ah+Ad%0D%0A4d+Tc+Ks+Kc

I really do. Sigh. I guess I'm dropping back down in limits once again. So I'll run good there when it won't matter as much. I owe you $3.

Four by Four

2011-02-01T10:38:00.002-05:00

"Four by four by four by four!" "By four!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI5o8cJfOG4

Today is Tuesday, but because much of this happened yesterday, it's still a Metal Monday.
I got an email yesterday from a certain blogger who cc'd another certain blogger. If you threw StB into the mix, you might begin to figure out what the 3 of those guys had in common and why they'd be emailing me.

In short, I'm going. www.facebook.com/TheBig4

This concert will fill a void I've been missing, namely seeing Anthrax in concert. I saw Metallica 3 times in 1988, Megadeth once in 1987, and Slayer once in 2002. As I told those guys, I'm super excited to hang out with them in a non-gambling environment. I spend each blogger gathering locked at a poker table and missing out on the interaction between friends. Even though I tell myself not to do that each year, I fail. At least for this trip, that won't happen.

Besides, how can you take my taste in music seriously if I told you the last 3 concerts I saw were Phish, Phish, and Phish?

Gambling Tales Podcast

2011-01-06T10:18:00.003-05:00

Hello folks.

Just in case you weren't aware (I never know how many of my readers don't follow other bloggers, so you may already know about this), the fine folks over at the Gambling Tales Podcast (http://gtpodcast.com) are putting together a freeroll over on Full Tilt Poker (bonus code BADBLOOD, ship it!).

The tournaments are Thursday's at 9pm EST, and there is a free $50 up for grabs. How do you sign up? Well, you'll need a password. What is the password? Well, I could easily give it to you, but I'm going to simply ask you to listen to the podcast and find out. It's entertaining and their two hosts, Falstaff and SpecialK, are good friends who certainly deserve some additional listeners.

You can listen to the show directly on gtpodcast.com or subscribe to it in iTunes. Maybe I'll see you there tonight.

I don't always play in freeroll tournaments, but when I do, I play in the Gambling Tales Podcast Freeroll. Stay thirsty my friends.

Metal on Metal

2011-01-04T22:05:00.003-05:00

Not sure why, but I'm a huge fan of metal cover songs. Don't get me started on what pop songs I feel could be covered well by an uptempo thrash sound. Occasionally, I'll find a cover song of a classic old metal song done up right. Here's one:

Original - Love Bites - Judas Priest

Newer - Love Bites - Nevermore (Warrel Dane crushes at the 4:45 mark)

We Have a Winner (and a Loser)

2010-11-29T12:04:00.002-05:00

Congratulations to StB for being the first ELIGIBLE person to correctly guess that TheMark's brother, Gucci Rick, will be joining our team for the LLL3 challenge at the WPBT Winter gathering in 12 short days. He'll be receiving his choice of either Lost Vegas or Cowboys Full.

I just recently completed a full week off from work thanks to my company's 2010 holiday schedule re-work that gave us 5 days off for Thanksgiving. It was at this time that I bumped up my online PLO stakes a notch and gave the $100 buy-in games another shot. I'd held off from playing those stakes since my late July debacle, where apparently not coincidentally, I was on vacation for a full week.

There must be something to time off and my ability to focus properly. Got my ass handed to me again. Some portion of the losses could be attributed to the standard PLO, holy shit really?, type of suckouts. But some is also due to my getting a bit frustrated at those losses. That frustration is more easily damped at $25 buy-in losses and that's where I need to improve.

And hey, just for the fun of it, here's a hand for you PLO folks if you care to disect it:

6-handed, $100 effective stacks, I'm in the cutoff. I open raise to $3.50 with 99TJ, button calls, big blind calls. Flop is 79J, 2 diamonds. Big blind checks, I c-bet to $8 and only the big blind calls. Diamond draw is my first assessment, I feel 8T has to raise with the flush draw out there. Turn is an off-suit 6, big blind checks once again. I believe I incorrectly check the turn here because there really is no other hand than a diamond draw that checks from the big blind. Even a hand like 5678 would bet I think. Key word, I think. The river pairs the 6 and the big blind leads for $25. My thought is to now raise. I beat 77, 67, T8 (badly played) and have a J-blocker to JJ. Besides the badly checked turn, am I so far off of my PLO game that raising the river bet is incorrect? Thoughts welcome.

When it comes down to WPBT time, I'll definitely be looking for a live PLO game. I haven't been to a casino since this past June, and even with the proliferation of some of the best online casinos, I still have the most fun at a live PLO table. I'll be heading to the Venetian in search of a game and hopefully Aria will have one as well.

See you all soon, this work week can't fly by quickly enough.

Position Filled

2010-11-17T13:21:00.002-05:00

We, Team Procedure, have had the 3rd spot taken on the team. I'm not revealing the name just yet since I'd like to do the following:

In order to commemorate The Procedure in all its glory, the first person to guess the 3rd member of the team will win a copy of Dr. Pauly's Lost Vegas book. TheMark, Otis, and GRob are not eligible for this prize.

Have at it.

UPDATE: Nobody is correct thus far. Also, JimTheKnife guessed AlCantHang and he too is incorrect.

UPDATE 2: If for some reason you already have Pauly's book, I'll substitute Jim McManus' Cowboys Full book as the prize.

HINT: Said person has been mentioned in this blog several times.

Position Available

2010-11-08T10:48:00.001-05:00

Position Available: 3rd Member of Team Procedure

Start Date: December 11th, 2010

Location: Las Vegas, WBTP Winter Gathering Tournament, Aria Casino

Minimum Requirements: Team Procedure (TheMark and BadBlood) are looking for a 3rd member to fill out their team in the Luckbox Last Longer Challenge. The applicant must be willing to begin drinking very early that morning (Dirty Martinis and Sugar Free RBV's) and attend an "Afternoon Shift" at a local establishment to be determined later. Subsequently, the applicant must participate in a poker tournament and be competent enough to fold their way to a high enough finish such that the combined score of Team Procedure qualifies for prizes donated by Pokerstars.

Desired Qualifications: Should Team Procedure win the Luckbox Last Longer Challenge, the applicant will participate in a after-party during the "Evening Shift" at a local establishment to be determined later. As the newest member of Team Procedure, the applicant will assist with nominal fees and expenditures to ensure TheMark and BadBlood celebrate in proper fashion.

Disclaimer: Team Procedure is not responsible for any trouble you get into with your spouse/significant other while participating. Team Procedure has final say as to who participates; and should multiple applicants qualify for consideration, Team Procedure can and will conduct preliminary interviews Friday December 10th at local establishments to be determined later.

I Like It When Bands Get Better

2010-11-02T20:01:00.001-05:00

...back me up here Speaker....

Half Marathon Race Report

2010-11-02T08:19:00.002-05:00

Without much re-write, I'm just reposting an email I sent to Peaker about my half-marathon this past Saturday. Here's the GPS watch data in case you're interested:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/54888798

And then here's yours truly at about mile 12.5, not looking as pained as I thought I'd be:

http://picthescene.com/wp-content/gallery/spinx-runfest/oct-29-30-174.jpg

Alrighty then, here's my race recap, 2 days later.

Couple of thoughts that are specific to me:

1.) Taking an entire week off from running before a race really works for me. A ton. My legs feel fresh and ready to go, blisters are healed, and I just don't feel dinged up at all. I'll probably continue this tradition since I'm 2 for 2 in surpassing my goals using this, shall we say, "technique."

2.) Carb-loading also works for me. Had noodles for lunch on Friday and pasta for dinner. By Saturday morning, I felt bristling with energy. Kind of like blue-plasma lightning wrapping my body as though I were Kyle Reese having just been transported back to 1984...

I woke up Saturday and thanks to a spoonful of cilium fiber the night before, went to the bathroom immediately. Glad to get that out of the way. You know exactly what I mean. Lathered up my nipples and groin area with body glide, put on blister band-aids where I needed them and suited up.

I toasted up an English muffin, spread some peanut butter on it and had it along with a banana for my pre-race meal. Also had a cup of coffee. Drove the wife to the meetup location and walked about a half mile with Otis and his wife to the starting location at the Greenville Drive stadium.

Went and peed. Dropped my bag off and filled my water bottles with a G2 Gatorade, the post-recovery one with protein and some non-sugar carbs. Can't remember the exact name. Hung out for a bit, stared at several tight pants of my co-competitors. Jesus, some women runners are in fine shape. 15 minutes before start time, went to pee again. More than I did the first time, but not a surprise. Felt good. Gave my wife a kiss and made my way into the starting crowd behind the start line.

"Fast runners" concerned with gun time to the right and everyone else to the left. I went left, this race was for me and everyone else was just a distraction. Almost forgot to turn on my GPS watch, but remembered just in time. Got the ipod ready, turned to Broken, Beat and Scarred. That was the song that randomly started out my 10k and I saw no reason to change that for this race. The MC counted down from 10 and the gun went off. It took me 13 seconds to get to the starting line - I pressed start on the watch and went.

It was so crowded and everyone was jockeying for position. I felt a pang of worry and then logically came to the conclusion that I was 2 minutes into a 2 hour race and I should just relax. I focused my efforts on not tripping or colliding with anyone. I feel like I know what my pace/exertion level is and I tried to dial into that zone immediately. That's code for "take it slow" at the beginning.

I'll be honest - I was feeling great. And in the back of my mind was the following plan: If you look at the elevation plot of the course, the first 8.5 miles looked to be pretty easy. I was going to go at a slight notch above my training pace and see how I felt along the way, ever mindful of the potential need to slow it down.

That need never came. In fact on mile 8, I was feeling super-strong. I was high on adrenaline or endorphines or something. The songs on my ipod were hitting me perfectly and I was cruising. That 7:57 mile was the result.

Then I saw the hill. The one at mile 8.5 I knew was coming. My legs felt strong, so I just climbed and climbed with my head down refusing to drop my pace. Passing people on this hill felt great. Watching some folks walk the hill made me feel great too. Mile 10 was slightly up hill too, but I knew if I could keep it up, I could just gut out the final 3 miles.

At the 12.6 mile mark, I set my ipod to hit Himsa's "Hooks as Hands" song. It's 4 minutes long and I was going to finish before that song did. I got close to the stadium, the end of the race has us run inside the ball field around the warning track for .1 miles and cross the finish line near home plate. Pretty cool. There were a bunch of folks cheering the runners along outside the stadium.

Oddly, I didn't feed off their energy at all. I was in my BadBlood-zone, metal, exercise, focus, alone. Only when I rounded the 3rd base side of the inside of the stadium and saw my wife, Otis and MrsOtis cheering me along did I come out of it. I crossed the finish line and felt outstanding. I felt a ton of pride in doing as well as I did, but I tried to focus on the accomplishments of my wife and friends who competed in their first event ever. I don't really like to be the focus of accolades, however, I will admit to feeling pretty good at everyone congratulating me.

1:48:21

Full Tilt on my Droid

2010-10-22T14:00:00.002-05:00

Well this is guaranteed trouble. Because it works.

I was perusing the 2+2 forums, specifically the Internet Poker subforum when I noticed a thread entitled "Beta Testing Rush Poker Mobile." Being the cutting edge guy that I am, I followed the instructions to contact FTPSean via personal message and give him the required information so I could participate in the testing.

My Motorola Droid 1 wasn't on the list of supported phones; however, I had the 2.2 Froyo update with the Flash 10.1 software installed. My guess is that the early Droid I had may not be fast enough CPU-wise to contend with the Flash software requirements. Still, I figured I'd try.

And like I said, it works.

I logged on and was brought to the lobby of Real Money Rush tables. I opened a table and away I went. To be fair, the interface seems decent and intuitive. However, I was playing over the Verizon 3G network, not WiFi, so I did time out a couple of times, perhaps in the neighborhood of 5% of the hands. Once you get used to the bet slider however, you can reduce the time it takes to make the proper bet size and my time outs reduced in frequency.

Would I play for serious money on my phone at this point in time? Probably not. But will I grab a few hands at lunch at work every now and then? Probably. OK, definitely. OK, every day. Alright, even in the bathroom, and maybe while driving, JESUS I'M ADDICTED!!!!111!!!one!!one!!!

Well, you get the point. The software is in Beta right now and I'd say based on its initial implementation, Full Tilt is going to have another winner on its hands with this. All kneel to the rake machine and submit to its control.

30 hands and 0.44 buy-ins. SHIP IT!!!

When I Die

2010-10-22T00:46:00.001-05:00

New, Old, Live

2010-10-12T20:39:00.002-05:00

New. The Absence. Tampa via Gothenburg - can you hear the Whoracle-era In Flames in there a bit? I can.

Old. The genius of Devin Townsend coupled with the Atomic Clock Gene Hoglan. Best Love? song ever. There is no external way to tell when a woman is ready to receive.

Live. Arch Enemy. Blood On Your Hands. Sick live vocals if you're into the genre and perhaps one of the tightest live bands too. One day, I'll travel to Japan, get plastered and go to a metal show.

Points in Hockey and Soccer

2010-09-29T11:08:00.002-05:00

Each year at the Imaginary Company where I work, we're expected to put together a list of Goals and Objectives that serves as a foundation for our career progress. If you've worked the corporate world for a while, you know how these things work (and don't work). However, the concept of working towards a goal has not been lost on me this past year. Believe it or not, it does have value.

Back in January, I accepted a prop bet with the blogger-turned-frolfer known as G-Rob. Even though a wager was made, it was the acceptance of the bet that led me down a well defined path towards a difficult to obtain objective - running a 10k in under 52:30. I had months to train, and train I did. Throughout the training, I honestly had no idea whether I'd succeed or not. But one thing I did know - I created a plan (with some help) and executed it to the best of my ability. Then on race day, when I crossed the finish line ahead of my target, I accomplished the goal.

Of course I shared the news with anyone and everyone who would listen, but the reality of the situation was that I had done something for myself. It was a feeling of accomplishment that I'd not felt in a long time. I'm really unable to put it into appropriate words.

Not soon thereafter, I felt the need to recapture that experience, the moment of self-satisfaction that occurs when you complete something you set out to do.

****

At the end of this past July, I was on vacation in Florida with the family. Of course, even while on vacation, I always find time to play some online poker. Just like on so many other occasions, while the vacation went extremely well, the online poker play did not. I managed to lose about 16 buy-ins in the $100 PLO games. If you've played PLO, you know that this is not uncommon, but even with that knowledge I grew incredibly frustrated.

I wondered why I was playing, why I was spending so much time with this pursuit. These are questions I'm sure nearly every poker player has asked themselves over the course of their "career."

If I were to answer those questions honestly, what would I do with those answers? Some of the answers may seem ridiculous, lofty even. But they are honest.

I want to be good at the game. Really good.

I want to be a winning player, more so than I am now.

I want to play enough hands each year to determine what my win rate is.

I want to move up in stakes at an appropriate pace.

I want to get better, always get better.

If the above answers could be considered goals, what then would be my execution plan?

****

To me, there are several types of poker players. There is the type of player, a prodigy even, who simply gets the game by playing it. These are the Durrrrs, the Galfonds, the Iveys of the world who for whatever reason have the brain wiring to learn the intricacies of the game by playing it. Obviously I'm not that type of player, and if you're reading this, neither are you.

Then there is another type of player. An intelligent player that misses some of the higher end key concepts of the game; those concepts just go unnoticed because they're non-obvious to all but the most savvy of minds. However, these players can learn these concepts if they are presented to them. Simply, these players can be taught, they can learn. This is the type of player I think I am. And many of you reading this are most likely in that category too.

Another type of player, the type of player I once was, is one that for whatever reason just expects that they're going to good because they once were. Some of the basics came naturally and these basics worked against a player base made up of recreational players. But the game is always changing, and it may have changed without them noticing it. But because this type of player expects to continue to be good, they don't see it and don't adjust.

****

I created a plan for myself. A training plan if you will. I moved my PLO game down 2 levels to the $25 buy-in. For a player with an ego (and that's what we all are), that's a difficult thing to do. Imagine that for a minute. Back in June, I played live $5/$5 PLO in Vegas and did really well. But because I was doing so poorly online, I dropped back to levels where my opening raise was 85 cents. You want to talk about a grind?

I told myself that if I could not win 100 buy-ins at the $25 PLO level, then I really had no business playing. None. But if I thought that my game was substandard, what was I going to do to improve it? Just play? That's not an answer unless you're the first player type I mentioned above. Could I learn some new things? I thought that I could.

I signed up at a training site and watched some instructional videos at deucescracked. I read tons of strategy posts in the PLO section at 2+2. And then I tried to apply what I learned.

****

Setting a running goal for myself was so satisfying that I couldn't help but do it again. What comes after a 10k? Why not at least double that and go for a half-marathon? So that's what I did. I developed another training plan, put it in a spreadsheet and began to execute it.

Every day I've woken up since July 18th, I've known exactly what I'd be doing for my workout, both with weights and with running. The date of my run is October 30th and I've completed over 60% of the training with an 11-mile run planned for Saturday.

It's tough as hell on me. But because I know the feeling of accomplishing something, I continue to work towards that goal. Every day. And it's a grind.

****

I'm almost half way towards my 100 buy-in goal. In just over 7 weeks of play, I'm up 45 buy-ins in about 23,000 hands. It's a good win rate and if I'm being honest, the urge to simply just move up now has crossed my mind multiple times. But each day, when I log into Full Tilt to play, I know exactly why I'm playing and what my strategy is.

I'm not playing just to pass the time away. I'm not playing just hoping to get lucky. I'm playing because I'm on step 1 of achieving a goal I defined for myself when I answered my own internal questions about why I play.

Does every player need to do this? No, of course not. But if you have expectations for yourself that you want to satisfy, maybe setting a goal would help you achieve them. And like I'm doing with running, it certainly doesn't have to be about poker.

What I've Been Listening To

2010-09-23T21:06:00.001-05:00

And loving all of it. But that's just me.

Chose or Be Chosen

2010-08-26T07:38:00.002-05:00

Some of you folks who've been to the house for a home game have met my buddy John "Falstaff" Hartness. He's another one of my friends who get out and actually do stuff rather than simply talk about doing stuff, like I'm prone to do. Hey, I'm an idea man, but executing upon ideas requires effort and I'm the definition of lazy.

If you weren't aware, John recently self-published a book and I'd like to relay that information to any readers who might be interested in purchasing it. You can purchase it here:

http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=4174880

Here's a shot of the cover which came out pretty decent, in my humble opinion:

WSOP Event #20 - Part Two

2010-07-27T16:56:00.002-05:00

When I last left off my WSOP Event report, I had just paid off the nut full house with second nut full house. Not only did my chip stack drop to roughly the 1800 range, but I kept thinking that I should have been able to fold to the river raise. I do recall thinking to myself however not to beat myself up over the decision. I still had chips and the blinds were still only 50/75. I was short, but not without life. The only problem was that in a PLO game, there is no "shoving" strategy in your arsenal. If you can only make a 3.5x pot-sized opening raise, you need to have a hand.

The table I was at was still fairly passive. In fact, I bled chips from the blinds when the pot-odds dictated a call with marginal run-down holdings like 4678 and the like. I bled all the way down to 1100 in chips and posted a twitter update lamenting my status. Still, I intended not to just blow my last chips away in disgust.

Reacting to my twitter update, AlCantHang wandered over to the table. His intentions were noble, he reminded me to get Medusa running on my iPod, a tradition we developed back in the Party Poker days. He railed me one time while I was short in an online tournament and I managed to somehow final table it only after switching iTunes to constantly play Medusa over and over and over again. I complied with his suggestion, it was an outstanding idea.

I finally was dealt a playable hand in the big blind. A late position player opened and my 9TTJ single suited was the hand I was going to go with. I re-raised pot and we got it all in. Of course, I was behind. The opener showed AJJx and had me pretty well beat. Cue the T-high, all heart flop. I took a second look at my opponents cards and saw no red. I dodged the 1 remaining Jack and doubled to about 2400. Medusa at work as they say. Then, our table broke.

My new table was filled with bigger stacks than the one I left, so I knew it would have more action. I got a free flop in the big blind with AQ63, suited Q in spades. The flop came down As9s6x, I flopped top and bottom and second nut flush draw. Vulnerable, but strong enough to lead at. I bet about 2/3 the pot and everyone folded except for the small blind. He check-raised me such that it was either push or fold for me. I felt I had to gamble at this stage and shoved. He called and showed A9xx with no spade re-draw. I was behind, but it was a great situation. I said, "Queen or a spade please to the dealer." I bricked the turn, but flushed up on the river and doubled up again. It was nearing the end of level 4 and I was over 5100 in chips with an average near 7500. It was a spot I could hardly complain about based on where I'd been.

The next hand of interest was the very last one played before the end of level 4. I called a raise in position (position is the NUTS in this game) with JT87 single suited. There were 4 players to the flop of 974 rainbow. I had flopped a 10-card wrap, any 6,8, or T gave me the nut straight, so when the initial raiser c-bet, I called. The turn came a 6, putting a second club on the board to go along with the 4 of clubs from the flop. I had the nuts, but no flush redraw. Again, the original raiser led out, but it was a bet less than pot size. My raise if I chose to do so, would commit me all-in effectively. I wasn't sure exactly what I was up against, but I felt that again, this was a time to gamble and get it all in with one card to come. My worst nightmare would be that I was up against the same hand with the flush re-draw, but I took that chance.

I raised pot, he did the same and we got it all in. What did my opponent have? Second nuts, but they were the 5c and 8c. He had no straight outs, but he did have the club outs. For a second, when the river came, I thought I was good. It paired the board 7. Unfortunately, it was the 7 of clubs giving my opponent a straight flush and me a ticket to the rail.

I'll admit, I was deflated. The guy had 3 clubs in his hand, so he only had 8 outs at most and was betting as if he had the nuts. But that was the level of skill in this tournament and the luck factor is just huge in Omaha. If I win the hand, I'm probably sitting on an 11k stack and well above average going into the break. Instead, I went to drown my sorrows at the Hooker Bar with Al and WriterJen. I ended up buying their drinks since they got to hear my bad beat stories. I'm good like that. Oh yeah, I also hit Quad Aces for $800 while I was there, so that dulled the pain a bit....

...More PLO cash game action to come...

Interim - Sirens

2010-07-20T20:45:00.003-05:00

I have the second part of my WSOP / Vegas trip coming, but I just can't find the time to put in the work for a decent post. So, I give you an evolution of Sirens in metal. Pretty much the same topic if you think about it.

Earliest Sirens - Savatage:

More Sirens, this time from Coroner: (FYI - Mental Vortex is an absolute hidden gem in progressive metal. The songs from this album take a bit of listening to get used to, but once embedded in your brain, you'll hopefully discover the genius behind the music. And no I'm not kidding.)

Even later still, The Sirens Song by Parkway Drive: (Heaviest of the offerings perhaps)

And finally, sirens in their own right, Cut Throat by Kittie: (I'd roadie for them for free. Pretty sure.)

WSOP Event #20

2010-07-05T14:57:00.003-05:00

I'm a firm believer in the fact that poker is a psychological game. It's all a matter of how your ability to decipher the proper information from the poker table is affected by everything else that's going on around you. For me, most importantly, it's highly dependent on my level of confidence. All I really wanted out of my WSOP experience was a sense that I belonged, a sense that I could compete. I did not want to show up and immediately think I was in above my head.

For some reason, whenever I walk into the Rio during the WSOP, my confidence in my poker ability just dissolves. I look around at the thousands of players and think to myself, "Well, I'm the fish, these people are all better than I am." Obviously that can't be true; well, it could, but the odds are against it. Still, that is the main reason I played the 5/5 PLO cash game the day and night before Event #20. I wanted to gain some confidence, a feeling that I belonged.

After two separate sessions, both winners, I felt exactly that. PLO is perhaps the game into which I've put the most amount of study. A hundred and fifty thousand online hands, a book here and there, and participation in forum discussions about PLO hands were all things I have not done in a long time with respect to NLHE. And I saw people making what I thought to believe horrendous mistakes. That's all I needed, some form of evidence that I had a shot to do well and capitalize on others' inexperience. Sure there would be better players than myself with more experience as well, but I didn't think I'd be the huge fish at the table. That's all I wanted.

I began the day a bit early and had a filling breakfast, planning for the long haul. I registered without a wait and sat quietly with AlCantHang in the Amazon Room. The tourney was being held in the Pavillion, but I wasn't going to be the noob sitting alone, first at my table. The Amazon room was about as empty as possible and the quiet beforehand was good for my concentration. Finally it was time to get going and I bid my adieu to Al and found my seat.

My intentions were to pay as much attention as possible. The focus required to spot everything for several 2 hour intervals was going to be taxing. But that's what is required to do well. One guy at my table made some bad plays but got lucky, I took note in case I was ever in a hand against him. The $1500 buy-in got you T1500 and 3 red rebuy chips. Many folks took their rebuy's right away, as did I, to start off the tournament with T4500. Of course, I busted a shortie who did not take his rebuy and only won about T1000 in the hand.

There are several arguments about when/why you should take the rebuys. You're forced to take them at the end of level 4 regardless. But prior to that, should you? I chose to take them, based on the argument that you want to maximize your value early against the weaker players. In fact, on one hand I saw a set over set that resulted in only a T1500 double up for a guy who could have got T4500 out of his opponent. Other folks argue that you should never be all in for T4500 at a 25/25 or 25/50 level in the WSOP. That argument is valid, but with a weaker than normal field, some people were playing big pots with suspect holdings early on.

One of the defining hands for me came in the 50/75 level. I started with probably around T4800 and raised pot with AdQdJsJc. I got called behind by one player on the button and the blinds folded. The flop came K72, all diamonds. Having flopped the nuts in hold 'em, a check could be argued for. Not so in Omaha. Either a worse flush is coming along for the ride, or many times a set will too. I bet about 3/4 pot and got smooth called by the button. Don't pair the board, don't pair the board, BAM, 2 of hearts. I sighed (internally obviously) and checked. The button checked behind.

The river was the worst card in the deck for me. A Jack, giving me Jack's full. Now here's where I made my mistake. River action with my hand, in my opinion, should be either bet/raise/fold or bet/call. I don't think a check is in order with my hand. My Jack's full beats 7's full and other odd-ball full houses if my opponent called with a 2 in his hand. So if I bet, I'll get called in those spots. However, if I bet and get raised, I have to be beat and should fold. At least that's how it tends to go down online against competent opponents.

So I bet about 2/3rd's the pot and got raised. Ugh. The action screams Kings full based on the flop call and the turn check. And what did I do? I called. Kings full it was and I was now a short stack. I immediately hated my call and then banished those thoughts from my head. If I kept any negative thoughts flowing around my skull, it was going to lead me into an "aw fuck it" play and I still had chips. I saw people go from near out to well over starting stack in a couple of orbits at my table and there was no way I was going to simply torpedo my remaining chips in a stupid fashion. Granted, this WSOP event was a low buy-in to many folks, but to me, it was my first and only Event for the year. No reason to give up now.

...to be continued...

Writers

2010-06-29T07:53:00.002-05:00

WSOP Report coming, honest....in the meantime....

A couple of folks I know are writing or have written some really good stuff lately. First, in case you haven't already heard, Pauly finally has his book ready for mass consumption.

Check out his site, Tao of Poker, for more information.

Also, good buddy Falstaff is doing some more writing and also is having his book The Chosen published via the same Lulu.com publishing system. Here's hoping they both have success with their projects. Great job guys.

Day 1

2010-06-17T09:14:00.002-05:00

First things first. Before I start my trip report, I'm going to have to take some time to thank TheMark once again. His generosity in allowing me to stay in the other half of his Rio suite for this trip was greatly appreciated. If he keeps it up, he'll pass Otis for first on my list of most free rooms bummed off of in Vegas.

Traveling with TheMark is traveling in style. He and the Pizza King picked me up at my house in plenty of time to catch our flights out of G-Vegas, connecting through Charlotte. On the main flight, his new 17" MacBook Pro acted as the in-flight entertainment, and we watched Terminator Salvation to pass the time. Once on the ground, a limo picked us up (sadly, the sign held by the driver did NOT say "TheMark") and got us to the Rio.

Standard operating procedure when TheMark is your host: Prior to check-in, bet $100 on a single roulette spin. "Bet black," he said. Off went the Diamond Total Rewards card and a $200 bet, one that probably lowered his average spin wager, was placed on the felt. Clickety clack went the ball and bam, right into a red slot. "Sighball." Down already.

No worries, we dropped our luggage off and had lunch at the All American. I donked $80 off at video poker to earn my two free Heineken's and when we were finished, we walked down to the Pavilion to check out the poker action. It was early still on Wednesday and nothing much was going on. We found AlCantHang and had some fun reading Pauly's Mastodon weekend recap in Bluff magazine. It should be online soon, and it's pretty funny if you know our G-Vegas scene at all. If you're still out in Vegas, it's the issue with Annette15 on the cover.

TheMark and I put our names down for a single table PLO satellite that unfortunately never materialized. I wanted to focus on PLO this trip since I was playing in Event #20, the $1500 PLO. I still wanted to play a satellite since Event #20's entry fee was the most I'd ever paid to enter a tournament. We settled on a $125 10-person SNG. Obviously the structure for these things makes them effectively a turbo, but I've played enough of them online that I wasn't too worried.

It was during this SNG that I remembered why I began playing PLO in the first place. The edge in these things is nearly zero. I won some limps when I raised with pocket Jacks. Standard. I raised with pocket 8's and called a short stack's shove. I lost a race against AJs. Standard. I re-raised all-in with pocket Aces, and got AQ to fold. I re-raised all-in with AK and lost a race to pocket Tens. Standard, standard, standard. And boring as hell. There weren't any mistakes made by anyone really, the hands played themselves and the only deciding factor was luck. Sure, most of it was due to the structure of this turbo, but the appeal of playing Hold 'em hit an all time low for me. I'll get over it, but if there's PLO to be played, I'm probably going to always want to play that first.

Off to the cash games.

The Rio was only offering the following PLO cash games: 5/5 and 5/10/25. Both had no cap on the buy-in and several players had $2k+ sitting in front of them in the 5/5 game. Still, I bought in for a lucky $700 and internally reiterated my PLO mantra: Patience + Position.

Over the past year and a half, I've played primarily 6-max PLO online and was cognizant of the fact I was now sitting at a live, 9-handed and deep stacked game. There would be differences. Online, 100BB games are actually pretty shallow and buy-ins fly into the pot regularly. Here, things would be different. There was a decent amount of limping, which wasn't a mistake generally when the implied odds were so large. I just kept my eye open for players who played obviously bad starting cards and tried to take advantage of them.

Oddly enough, there were a lot.

Everyone at the table knew to raise AAxx, KKxx, and some double suited rundown hands, but there were several players calling out of position with effectively garbage hands. I played tight enough that I was able to win a pot with an airball on the button on a Q77 board, getting some one's naked 7 to fold. Over the course of two sessions at 5/5, I booked a +90 and +540 win, erasing the roulette, video poker, and SNG losses for the day. I turned in early so that I'd have enough sleep in me for the reason I went to Vegas in the first place, my first World Series of Poker Event.

Back from Vegas

2010-06-16T14:23:00.003-05:00

I'm back, just posting a bullet list of items I should be covering in future posts so that I don't forget them...

Day 1 - Early thoughts, Satellites, Cash PLO

Day 2 - WSOP Event #20, $1500 PLO

Day 3 - Venetian Deep Stack $540, Cash PLO

Day 4 - Table #216, UFC, The Mayor is The Mayor

Day 5 - More Cash PLO and End of Trip Thoughts

After all was said and done, finished the trip up $25.00. Ship it!

Off To The Races

2010-06-08T09:07:00.002-05:00

For those interested, a quick update.

Leaving Wednesday to Vegas to play in the WSOP Event #20, $1500 PLO. Some folks were gracious enough to offer me stakes, and I've enabled a Twitter feed in the upper left so that I can post updates for them to follow the action.

Thanks to TheMark and his degenerate ways, for allowing me to crash with him at the Rio for this trip.

This is my first event and like I told Otis in a recent email, I'm treating it just like my race. Focus, have a good time, do my best. And whatever happens after that, happens.

\m/

Cutting Your Feet On The Hard Earth Running

2010-06-01T10:19:00.003-05:00

For a refresher - you may want to re-read this: Proposition Wager

Back when the prop bet was made, the race up in Gaffney was scheduled for July 10th. Sometime between then and now, they rescheduled the race to July 17th. This was bad. My family and I made vacation plans for that week and now I'd have to find another race. Research began.

Apparently, 10K races are not very common. 5K's are a dime a dozen, yet 10K's are few and far between. The nearest 10K I could find was taking place up in Brevard, NC, not known for its flat country roads. Still, they had a race scheduled on May 29th and July 3rd. Nothing in the prop bet stipulated that I couldn't run a race earlier than July 10th, nor did it limit me to the number of tries. I decided I was going to try to finish my end of the bargain earlier than anticipated.

I was leery. I input the race map into the mapmyrun website and this is what I found:

Brevard White Squirrel Race

If you click the "show elevation" checkbox, you'll notice that the end of the race has about .6 or .7 miles with 2 and 3% grades. Upwards. Ouch. Most, if not all, of my training was on rather flat areas, like a treadmill set to 0% incline. I figured if I could get to mile 4 by 32 or 33 minutes, I'd have a shot. Undeterred, I registered for the race and paced my training accordingly.

****

The training....

It was difficult. I began running last June, but mainly just for cardiovascular activity purposes. Constant speed, no variation in tempo, just boring running. Luckily, as I mentioned in my original post, I had a secret weapon.

The beauty of this blogger community is that even though we've all been basically introduced to each other via poker, there are many experts and enthusiasts in many fields. And most everyone is willing to give advice when asked. I called upon the PokerPeaker for assistance and he was more than happy to lend a helping hand with some training advice.

So beginning in January, I followed it as best as I could. There was some slight variation, based mainly on my 42-year old knees and their ability to withstand pounding punishment, but I kept at it. That was what I felt was my edge in this wager. Some people may call it discipline, but fellow Taurus' know the truth. Stubbornness. A blatant disregard for obstacles in your way.

G-Rob lost about 30 pounds in the first 6-weeks. He talked trash. I didn't care. This was a 6 month bet and I'd seen him lose that type of weight before. I remember my first run at an accelerated pace - a form of interval training known as a fartlek - I ran three 2-minute stretches at a 7:30 minute per mile pace. I was exhausted afterwards. My face was red and my legs were burning. According to my running log, that was on January 10th. My last week of training, I did 4 5-minute intervals at that pace. And I felt pretty good afterwards. Regardless of how race day ended up, I was coming out of this bet in much better shape. That alone was worth it to me.

****

The weekend before the race, G-Rob effectively conceded. He plateaued and then had a vasectomy. That took some of the pressure off, but in all honesty, I still wanted to successfully complete my end badly. Perhaps some of you also remember this:

Not Purple Jesus

The guy I lost that bet to is our Monday Night poker game dealer, Broc. I bet $100 I could beat him in a 75-yd dash, then fell and fractured my wrist, not my finest moment. This past January, Broc parlayed another $100 wager with me and G-Rob that we'd both fail our end of the prop bet. If we both didn't hit our goals, we'd each owe Broc $100 even though we wouldn't have to pay each other. But if we both made it, he'd owe each of us $50. If one of us made it, he'd owe that person $100. That also motivated me. I wanted my $100 back.

****

I went to bed early every night last week. I passed up a poker game last Thursday with two former NFL 1000-yd running backs, one a Heisman Trophy winner. I woke up at 5am alone and in the dark on Saturday and drove 90 minutes to the race. Then I ran.

Results by Age

Overall Results

As Daddy would say, "Crush." 11th place, 47:53 time, 7:53 per mile pace. Even with the hills.

In Case You Were Wondering

2010-05-19T07:54:00.000-05:00

Wed, Jun 9, 2010
Arrive: 12:59 pm
Las Vegas, NV (LAS)

R.I.P. RJD

2010-05-17T10:59:00.000-05:00

He'll know for the first time if he's evil or divine.

Young Again

2010-05-07T08:14:00.003-05:00

I was a junior in high school in 1985. I was deeply engulfed in the hair metal scene, even though later in life I'd be forced to shave all of mine off every 2 weeks. My favorite album at the time was Invasion of Your Privacy by Ratt. Lay It Down had just come out on MTV featuring a Playmate of the Year (Marianne Gravatte - and no I didn't need Google or Wikipedia to remember that name....splooge...) and there was no doubt in my mind that my favorite guitarist was Warren DeMartini. He nailed the riffs, the solos, and it all was just so perfectly put together.

Well, on my birthday this year, they released a new studio album. This song may seem bland to some, but to me it brings back so many memories of the summer of 1985 and 86. Note that former Quiet Riot guitarist Carlos Cavazo is playing in the band now. That can only mean good things.

Metal Monday

2010-05-03T11:30:00.001-05:00

Simple riff. Executed masterfully. Great sounding live clip, and don't forget to listen to the sick double bass at 4:35 comprising the intro to Clayman.

I Enjoy This Immensely

2010-04-28T22:50:00.002-05:00

You probably won't. 2:03 mark and it's riff-time.

End of Trip: Tattoo You

2010-04-21T12:58:00.003-05:00

It all ended with TheMark twitpic'ing the photo below and asking why would a half naked man be standing outside the Atlantic City airport. Here's how it would begin.

http://twitpic.com/1ewkra

****

You can spice up any gambling trip with prop betting. It's a rule the G-Vegas travelling team follows almost all of the time. TheMark, Moutray and I gambled on several things during the weekend in AC, from who would be leading the Masters upon touchdown, to the sex of the shuttle driver from the airport. Generally harmless $10 bets were bandied about consistently from the beginning of the trip to the end.

One of the more interesting ones came about when during a walk down the Atlantic City boardwalk, TheMark spotted a Henna Tattoo place.

"OK guys, how about this one: Whoever loses the most, or wins the least, in our first poker session gets the names of the other 2 tattoo'd on their chest."

Moutray immediately agreed. I was a bit hesitant. TheMark and Moutray are excellent poker players and I'm not ashamed at saying I was an underdog in this contest. But I also wasn't going to be "that guy" who wouldn't go along with whatever the others wanted to do, especially when I was freerolling the entire trip.

"OK, fine," I agreed. I knew I'd regret it immediately.

****

We all put our names on the 2/5 and 1/2 NL tables upon arriving at the Taj Mahal poker room. There were no immediate seats except at a 2/4 limit table, so we parked our semi-inebriated asses down at a table full of nits and losers.

"Raise, re-raise, cap." I'm pretty sure each round of pre-flop betting went like that, and then post-flop actual poker would be played. Of course, at the lowest limit poker for the weekend, I'd be a card rack. QJd turned a flush and won a big pot. AA would turn a set and get paid. I was up $100+ at a 2/4 limit table before we got our names called to 1/2 NL.

"Hmmmm, maybe I'm not going to lose this one" I thought. Somewhere, a petite Eastern European Henna tattoo artist was laughing.

****

We played only an orbit at 1/2 before they opened a new 2/5 table. The three of us sat down and the table began to fill up with locals.

(Aside: What is it about New Jersey and the Northeast in general that causes fights to nearly break out at every poker table?)

I was leading the prop bet, but it wasn't long before TheMark flopped a set of deuces and cracked Aces for a big pot that put him in the lead.

One large fellow, who seemed quite friendly at first, began to berate TheMark.

"Hey buddy, you can't do math very well, can you?" he bellowed from the 1-seat.

"Huh," TheMark responded, smiling, gregarious as always.

"You just won a $700 pot and you tipped her $1. You're a cheap ass redneck."

Awesome. This guy is picking a fight because of a $1 tip. We were tipping every hand. $1. It's pretty standard. The amount of work a dealer does on a $700 pot that goes to showdown is exactly the same amount of work they do on a $20 pot that goes to showdown. This guy, manners aside, is apparently oblivious to his own stupidity.

TheMark ignored him and gave him a standard "Whatever buddy" reply.

That unfortunately didn't settle things.

"I'll knock you the fuck out." He was now challenging TheMark to fisticuffs right there at a 2/5 table at the Taj Mahal. The dealer said nothing and the floor was nowhere to be found.

"No you won't," I replied.

"Yes I will," he returned.

"No you won't." That's all I said to him. Because I knew he wouldn't. He was all mouth. Well, and belly. He was probably 350 pounds. Still, I was quite confident he'd not lay a hand on either me or TheMark.

A few more "Yes I will's" and "No you won'ts" went back and forth and finally the floor came over and warned us. I was actually laughing at the unintentional comedy of the situation. It was surreal. In the back of my mind, in a worst case scenario, I felt that if I could avoid being sat on, I'd be the favorite in the Octagon against him. MMAjunkie.com would have set a -500 line in the bout.

BadBlood (-500) vs. Out of shape, random fat guy from New Jersey.

****

With TheMark doubling through, the prop bet was coming down to Moutray and I. We were each hovering at about even, with an hour and a half left to play before our agreed upon stop time.

Sadly, I was dealt pocket 10's. They are now referred to as pocket Henna's. I went broke with them, misplaying them horribly against K7o. And that was all she wrote. I was toast. It was just a matter of when we going to find time to go back to the Henna place. Hopefully never. Maybe we'd drink enough and gamble enough that they'd forget about the prop bet. I certainly wasn't going to bring it up. "Hey guys, remember I'm supposed to get your names tattoo'd on my chest." You would not hear me say that. Ever.

****

Sunday finally rolled around. Moutray was up for the trip, TheMark crushed the poker table for the trip and was up even after a really, really bad 10 minutes at roulette. I was way down. Miserably down. I torpedoed an $1100 stack at 1/2 PLO after letting the alcohol get to me on Saturday night, ruining any chance for a comeback. Perhaps the two travelling compatriots would have some pity on me?

Zero chance.

We ate breakfast, and TheMark said, "Let's go. Tattoo time."

Ugh. "We might not have time, we'll be late for the shuttle back to the airport," I said.

"We'll take a cab."

It was worth a shot.

****

TheMark and Moutray each picked their designs within which their names would appear. TheMark chose flaming dice, rolled up as snake eyes. Moutray chose a wavy banner, choosing to use the term "Whimsicle" in place of his name. As good of a poker player as Moutray is, apparently he didn't major in spelling at good old Furman University. Still, he instructed a young, blond Russian Henna tattoo artist to use that text in place of the stock "Hustler" wording that the tattoo design came with.

I took it like a good sport. After all, who likes a sore loser. There was only one minor problem left to contend with.

"How are we going to get back in the casino?" I asked. You see, I had to let the Henna ink dry for 30 minutes and I certainly wasn't going to ruin my favorite Affliction shirt. Our bags were checked with the casino and we had to walk back inside. I didn't think they'd let a shirtless customer through to the casino floor.

"It's New Jersey," TheMark said, "Nobody will care."

Sadly he was right.

I rode the escalator back up from the boardwalk to Caesar's Palace casino and walked to the desk where they had our luggage. Nobody said a word. I don't even think I got a stray look from anybody. I easily walked past 500 people without my shirt on and two large Henna tattoo's drying on my chest. Past the roulette tables, past the black jack tables, through the check-in lobby, past a small food court. I was the only one without a shirt. Yet nobody said a word to me.

I guess that's standard.

****

The ink finally dried while standing in the sun outside the airport. Finally, a curious gentlemen walked up to me and said, "Dude, what's up with no shirt?"

"BadBlood on poker dot blogspot dot com."

Trip Report Interruption

2010-04-17T02:23:00.002-05:00

I am postponing further trip reports from Atlantic City to post some pretty sweet action.

First, props to AlCantHang, not like he needed them, but still, props anyway.

Looks like my Sundays, Mondays, and Wednesdays got a little busier. And I'm OK with that. I haven't really participated all that much in previous BBT challenges. But this year, I'm going to make a huge effort to do so. So, thanks to Al for the invite and thanks to FullTilt for adding some pretty significant packages to our prize pools.

Master of Magnetism

2010-04-13T14:29:00.001-05:00

Continuing with the use of sayings with the word "last" in them, I offer you this: "He who laughs last, laughs best."

Since it was still early in the trip, I would be laughing first. The three of us traveling to A.C. were staying at Caesar's but we'd be playing a lot of poker at the Borgata. One other thing we had planned was a dinner at Bobby Flay's.

During the ride up to Charlotte International, I was offered a piece of an already established wager between TheMark and Moutray. Moutray claimed, without a shadow of a doubt, that the poker chips in the Borgata poker room had magnets in them. He thought that because they stuck together so easily and seemed to attract each other when they were close together that it must be magnetism.

Upon hearing the prop bet I jumped on the not-magnet bandwagon with TheMark.

I told Moutray we could either prove there were no magnets in the chips logically or physically. After he took my action, I explained to him that if there were magnets in the chips, then there would be no way to stack them properly. If two chips attracted each other, then you'd just have to flip one over and they'd repel, making stacking them a near impossible task.

He was a bit demoralized and could only muster up a "Hmmm...that's a really good point" in response.

During my free dinner, in between bites of my free Filet Mignon, and in between sips of my free Heinekens, I told Moutray we'd go buy a $5 chip and open it up for him. Since he was responsible for the bill, he had a right to physical proof. I left the restaurant and brought back a redbird and TheMark immediately cracked it open by wedging it between fork prongs and twisting it. Out popped the brass insert, totally devoid of any magnetic properties. TheMark and I left Moutray with the bill and hopped into a $5/$10 NL game at the Borgata, digesting the free meal in total contentment.

Sure, we laughed a bit at Moutray's expense; but he'd certainly get one of the last laughs of this trip.

Degeneracy at 30,000 Feet

2010-04-12T15:09:00.001-05:00

Lee Haney used to say, "Last set, best set," whenever he was referring to the last exercise of his weightlifting workouts. The reason I bring it up is because most road trips start out with such high anticipation that you could say, "First part, best part," about most of them. Last weekend was no exception for me.

TheMark and Moutray pulled into my driveway at about 10:45 am on Friday. We were running behind - we had a 1:00pm flight to catch out of Charlotte, an easy 90 minutes up Route 85. Moutray's Cadillac would provide sufficient speed to make up some of the time, but it was still going to be close. No matter though. The first words out of TheMark's mouth was, "Cocktails?"

TheMark was host for my trip. His roulette playing degeneracy has earned him legendary status among both his friends in G-Vegas and his friends at Harrah's. Harrah's was footing the bill for the round trip airfare and accommodations. I was tagging along for the ride and the $13 in taxes I had to pay. Who would say no to that?

TheMark reached down into his carry-on luggage and pulled out a bottle of Grey Goose and graciously poured a generous helping over some already iced Sugar Free Red Bull. "RBV," he said as he handed me my cup. Moutray would remain dry at least until we hit the airport. Smart. With netbooks in hand and a mifi card, TheMark and I warmed up the bankrolls with some online poker at 80mph. I think I lost $15 before we lost our connection. Technology rules.

Once in the airport, we were able to check in without much hassle and I bought the first official round of drinks at the gate. We were off to a good trip.

If you've ever taken a gambling junket before, you know that the flight out is filled with drinking and gambling. Harrah's makes sure everyone is lubed up prior to landing so that there's no shortage of inhibition removal preventing anyone from making their favorite -EV bets. Even on the flight, there are wages to be made.

For anyone who wanted to participate, you could write your seat number on a $5 bill and place it into a huge plastic garbage bag. The hostess would then take the bag up the aisle and when she got to the front, another hostess would pull out the winning bill. The winner kept the entire contents of the bag. As you'd guess, you could enter as many times as you wanted.

We summarily lost the $5 pool, the $10 pool and the $20 pool. "It don't matter," said TheMark, "we're taking down the hundo bag." Before the $100 pool went off, the hostess first had to determine if it was even viable. There were degenerates on the plane, but the question remained, how many would be willing to make a $100 wager. When prompted via intercom, all three of us in seats 16A, B, and C shot up our hands. Unfortunately, we were the only ones. I was under the impression that nobody else was willing to gamble that high on the plane ride out, so I mentally bookkept my losses thus far.

We continued to two-fist the free drinks and then, to my surprise, the trash bag made its way around the plane. The game was on after all and in went our Benjamins. We weren't sure how many in all were there, so we ran a side bet on the over under. I set the line at 14 and both TheMark and Moutray took the over.

The drawing was suspenseful, and it got delayed. As soon as the hostess stood up to make the pick, a huge burst of turbulence hit the plane and she went sprawling into her seat. I have to say, it was the worst turbulence I've ever been in. And I didn't even care. I was lit up "good fashion" as one of my co-workers used to say. The turbulence died down and the drawing was made.

"Sixteen A," came over the intercom and our row erupted. "Ship the bag o' money!" we yelled at the top of our lungs. Nobody else was laughing though because another severe batch of turbulence hit right at that moment. I bounced out of my seat and started spraying my drinks everywhere. I doused TheMark in Bloody Mary, Moutray bathed in his own Jack Daniels and coke. My jeans were soaked with vodka. It was crazy. Those less inebriated were worried, and not just a little bit. The three of us continued high-fiving each other not even caring if we were going to crash. "We're goin' down winners!" we screamed. "Trash lady, bring us our money!"

When things finally died down, we were delivered our bag and counted out the money. It wasn't as huge as we hoped, but there was $1200 in the bag and we each split it as per our agreement beforehand. We were all up over $250 and we hadn't even landed yet. Stupid, stupid fun.

Promotion

2010-04-08T15:19:00.003-05:00

Prior to Mastodon Weekend, TheMark told me that he had a poker apparel company lined up to contribute towards our evening of poker at Azia's. Well, that company came through in a big way for us, providing additional prize pool mobney's, footing much of the bill for the food and giving out "Bustout" bounties for anyone who eliminated either Jeff or his wife Nikki from the tournament.

In return, all they wanted was some linkage and promotion. In my opinion, that's a +EV transaction. So give Bustout Poker a look-see, they've launched their official site and are offering a WSOP Main Event package giveaway to those who purchase some of their premium shirts.

Here's a shot (stolen shamelessly from Doc Chako) of me in their Suicide Kings jersey after eliminating Nikki from the tournament.

Excuse the flexing and Bobby Bracelet's indifference to my posedown.

Since Jeff is a fellow metalhead, and I'm sure that we can both appreciate some old-school Testament. Here's a bonus metal clip of one of my favorite Skolnick solo's performed live at Alcatraz. Solo hits about 0:45 into the clip. Prrrrrrreeeeeeachhhhh!

Pain for Pleasure

2010-04-06T08:12:00.001-05:00

I wrote Otis an email documenting the game last night at Gucci Rick's:

Some people find pleasure in other's pain. Not that I think you're one of those people, but if there's a small bit of yourself that does, then you'll enjoy the following. :)

The scene is Gucci Rick's, where else would it be? It's about 1:30 am and the following has already taken place. I busted my first buy-in on a semi-bluff against Buddha. He found a way to call my check-raise all-in with middle set. Neither my flush draw nor my gut-shot straight draw got there on the river, so I rebought for the requisite $600.

I then folded for much of the evening. The game was slow due to the NCAA finals; getting dealt 62o and 92o did nothing to improve my demeanor. I steered the conversation amongst a table of semi-believers towards the topic of there being no heaven. That didn't go well. Odd.

My final hand that I'd see for the night was pocket Tens. I was in the big blind and had actually built my stack back up to a profitable position, albeit barely. Among a sea of limpers, Mike Myers raised his button to $17. I called from the blinds, but so did three other people. I should have perhaps re-raised, however, I wasn't going to build a huge pot out of position with tens. I was deep stacked. Let me repeat.....I was not going to build a big pot out of position. I was not going to.....

The flop came 663. I wasn't convinced I was behind yet, however, I checked and observed the action. It checked back to Mike Myers and he continuation bet $30. This seemed weak I recall thinking. I called, so did Buddha. The turn was an 8.

I decided that it was time to flat barrel. I launched $60 into the pot and Buddha quickly called. Mike Myers, succumbing to the effects of his own weaponry, folded. My read on his c-bet was accurate. However, Buddha's smooth call was worrisome. He could easily have a 6.

The river was a ten. I now liked my hand.

About 30 minutes earlier, Buddha had check-raise bluffed the Gooch on the river. It was a paired board with 4 diamonds and Gooch laid down the Ace of diamonds. Buddha showed an off suit Queen, a well executed bluff. I was also hoping to get bluffed here, because, let's face it, I had a monster.

*pause*

I pause here because your Spidey Sense is going off. I know it is. Mine was too. But I'm not Peter Parker.

*pause*

I fired off $87 into the pot and was waiting for a call or better yet, a raise. The raise came, just like I hoped, it was $216 more for me to call. It was odd. In a way I was happy I was going to win a huge hand late in the night. But before I acted, I went over once again some of the action.

Buddha limped UTG+1. He said, prior to limping, "I don't want to have to call a re-raise pre-flop with this hand for $50 dollars, so I'm limping." He did call a raise however. When I flat barreled the turn, he said, "Mike, I figured you'd be coming along for that bet," then called quite quickly.

His river raise was consistent with him having quads. But was I really just going to call second nuts here? It's Hold 'em, not Omaha. If I re-raise, pocket 8's call. 86 calls, pocket 3's might. Am I really going to be afraid of quad sixes?

"All in." I announced, but not very emphatically.

Let me once again say, "My final hand that I'd see for the night was pocket Tens."

A Virtual Stack, A Virtual Story. Rush Poker Edition

2010-03-31T07:56:00.003-05:00

It's been a couple of months now that Rush Poker on Full Tilt has been available. There have already been many posts by those of us who've tried it, many positive and many negative. Now, lucky reader, you get to hear my take on it.

I enjoy it. Immensely. Here's why.

To me, the most significant advantage of Rush Poker is the constant changing of players and positions for each hand. I'll be honest, for nearly the entirety of 2009, I did not play NLHE cash games online. It was strictly PLO and PLO8 for close to 100,000 hands. I made this decision because of the fact that I had not purchased "HUD" software to assist my play.

(For those of you unaware, HUD or heads-up-display software is used to overlay player statistics over their avatar at an online poker table. These statistics show player tendencies in easy to read formats that show you how tight/aggressive a player is. It essentially allows you to make "reads" based on their behavior. It's a fantastic tool for multi-tablers who are unable to make these reads by paying attention to each table visually.)

I'm on a Mac, and at this time last year, there wasn't a decent way to get the Poker Tracker software running without booting into Windows. I did not by my Macbook Pro to run WinXP, so there was some philosophical opposition that I couldn't get past. Without tracking and HUD software, I truly felt I was at a disadvantage to those who were using it. Therefore, rather than play against players with more information at their disposal about my play, I just chose not to. I understand you can run the same software for PLO and PLO8 but it's not as predominant nor do many people know exactly what to do with player stats in those games.

With Rush Poker, the tracking and "HUD-ing" were all but eliminated. Now people would need to pay attention to the action at the table for a much larger player pool, not just their 5 opponents at a 6-max table. So for a player like myself without the additional software aids, I stood a better chance against my opponents.

I won't even get into the speed of play benefits with this post except to say that with rakeback, two-tabling Rush Poker earns me about $10/hour in rakeback alone. That's not insignificant.

So how have I been running? Like with all forms of poker, hot and cold. I've had 7-10 buy-in upswings and comparable downswings. But every now and then, I'll put together a real good session where I win all my showdowns.

Last night was one of them. KK > 99 in blind vs. blind all-in-pre. Set of 66's > TPTK. AA > KK and AA > QJ on a QT9 flop. That's my story. Here's my stack:

Mastodon / Metal

2010-03-08T14:22:00.002-05:00

Let me just say Mastodon Weekend was a resounding success. From Thursday's 5-star dinner at Rick Erwins, to Friday's poker marathon at Azia's, to Saturday's Trivia Contest / Bar Crawl, not a whole helluva lot could have gone any better.

Shout out to the BustoutPoker.com folks who added to the prize pool and paid for the food. Jeff and Nikki - we both know who the poker player among you guys is. :)

(Also - special thanks to the experts who helped my wife's uber-drunk friend into our minivan. All was well by Sunday. Except for the smell...)

I have tons of video to post and hopefully I can put it all together somewhat coherently. In the meantime, I leave you with a Metal Monday video and a snippet from the bar crawl.

This band could easily remind you of some old Pantera. Check out Throwdown's This Continuum:

And lastly, just to show you all how low-brow our humor is at Mastodon, I call this next snippet "Gastodon:"

State of the G-Game

2010-02-23T15:48:00.003-05:00

No, I'm not stuttering. The G-Game is simply a reference to our lovely town of G-Vegas and the poker community herein. It's now been about four years or so since I started playing semi-seriously in various games around town. Those include home games, away games, and the slightly infamous underground scene that was in its hey-day back in 2007. To say the environment has changed would be a pretty large understatement. What follows is simply my own personal musings on the matter. Take them for what they're worth.

The game I've played in most consistently has been Monday Night at GucciRick's. The people attending have slowly changed over the years as new folks who get the highly-coveted invite replace those who either are no longer interested in playing as much or who simply cannot afford to. The stakes are not high, at least not upon initial inspection. The blinds remain $1/$2 with a $5 straddle put on roughly 30% of the time. You can buy-in for $300 and re-buy for $600 should you get stacked. This doubling of the re-buy makes the game rather deep in the late stages of the evening and it's not uncommon for players to post four-figure profits and losses. It's this latter fact that has had the most impact on the game as the swings can get large. Enduring a loss of $1000 or more takes some getting used to and not everyone does. As such, some players no longer play and some take occasional breaks. With all that said, in the end it is Gucci Rick's game and he manages it very well. It's lasted as long as it has due directly to some decisions he's made about the game and hopefully the game will continue to blossom.

The old Thursday night crew I believe still plays quite regularly. I've not been to one of those games in a while mainly due to other players having dibs on seats once I could no longer commit to a weekly attendance. That game is structured a bit lower in steaks which is probably why it is still going very strong.

The always insightful Peter Birks has frequently made comments about skinning and shearing a sheep and how the longevity of a poker community could very well depend on such decisions. The player turnover on Monday night vs. that of Thursday night could be an example of such a notion. I used to think that accelerated re-distribution of poker money would not ever effect the landscape of our local scene, but that was before the economy took such a downswing. There are many players who no longer have the expendable money they used to dedicate to poker.

Other home games I've played in have been my own, one up in Charlotte, and one hosted by Lee Jones in Asheville. Besides my love for playing poker, my primary reason for trying to get to these out of town games as often as I can is because of the reciprocity in player base. Lately, if I want to host a game at my house, I depend on some out of towner's making the trip so that my game is viable. Without them, there have been multiple occasions where I've not had enough people willing to play and had to cancel a game. I do enjoy hosting and cancelling a game is something I'm loathe to do.

The underground scene has also had some consolidation. I'm not as much of a regular as I used to be. After the issues that occurred in late 2007 (if you're a long-time reader, you know what I'm talking about), I ceased playing in a raked environment. Late last year however, one of the games moved from its location inside an abandoned commercial building to a residential location. The new setup is more amenable to my preferences and I was able to convince my better half to allow me to play there once again.

But even then, the games are not necessarily as busy as they used to be. Many of the other underground games around town are no longer operating. The environment is certainly not conducive to the longevity of an underground game. You still need to dodge the legal aspects and the rake-induced acceleration of alleviating the poorer players from their money.

I recently got invited to another home game locally and had a great time. I'm hoping that the player base of that game will mix into the player bases of the other games I play in as the new blood, so to speak, could really be helpful in keeping the life of the games going. Getting to play live, local poker a couple of times a week is a luxury I don't want to give up.

And Toby, if you're reading this, hopefully someday I can play a pot with the best player in South Carolina.

Welcome to eBlood

2010-02-11T10:10:00.004-05:00

Before I go eBay or craigslist this stuff, I figured I'd post here about a couple of items I have for sale. No reasonable offer refused and I'll take PayPal, Stars, or Tilt transfers. Just looking to get rid of things I no longer need:

1. 160GB iPod classic. 2 years old, very good condition, great battery life and black silicone protector. (UPDATE: SOLD)

2. Blackberry Curve 8330. Just under 2 years old, excellent condition, car charger, wall charger, USB cable and black silicone skin.

Shoot me an email if you're interested with your offer and proposed method of payment. I'll update this post should anything sell. Thanks for looking.

Running Update

2010-02-05T00:45:00.004-05:00

I will be crushing G-Rob in our bet. Just an FYI. With that said, I will be posting songs from my "Master Run" playlist. I have 52:30 of music on a playlist all set for my run. I promised PokerPeaker I'd get him my list and eventually I will get those .mp3's to you. In the meantime, this song is on the list.

No, I've not gone soft. Yes, there are keyboards in this song and you can actually understand the vocals. I'll fix that in the next few songs, but in the meantime, grab some Gus G. magic.

Oh yeah - hot chick helps out singing too (Tara Teresa).

SuperBowl Party

2010-01-27T11:43:00.003-05:00

If you know me, then you probably know TheMark. He's the G-Vegas version of Tony Soprano. He gets things done and he knows how to throw a party.

On SuperBowl Sunday - February 7th for those of you unaware - he's hosting a massive party at the local Azia restaurant.

The cost is $50 but it includes tons of food and drink. If you're interested, contact me and I'll get you TheMark's contact information so you can buy a ticket, cash advance payment please.

I'll be there, but don't let that dissuade you.

Doubt and Data

2010-01-12T08:54:00.001-05:00

Generally speaking, human beings lie, and data doesn't. Visual evidence, statistical evidence, it was all there. Anyone who thought Mark McGwire did not take performance enhancing drugs was just ignoring the data. Baseball is a very statistically driven game. In no other sport do you get thousands of samples per player (i.e. pitches, which lead to at bats). When you get enough samples, you can make very good statistical predictions on players. A player with a lifetime batting average of .310 will probably hit somewhere between .290 and .320 the next year. More samples, less variance, it's pretty basic.

So when a player undergoes a dramatic shift in his performance based on previous history, something is usually amiss. Injuries cause players to perform worse and those scenarios are very explainable and occur quite frequently. But when a player makes a dramatic shift in the other direction without much to explain it, America's eyebrows become raised with doubt.

McGwire admits in his confession that much of the reason he took steroids was to avoid injury and stay healthy longer. This could very well be true. Baseball certainly isn't football or hockey or any other contact sport, but its regular season lasts 6 months and 162 games. It's not difficult to see how it can become a grind both mentally and physically for a player; and without the aid of performance enhancers, it would be very reasonable to expect minor dings to add up over the course of a season.

Take a look at this page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Baseball_players_who_have_hit_30_or_more_home_runs_before_the_All-Star_break

With the exception of Roger Maris in 1961, no player who hit more than 30 home runs by the All Star break hit more than 20 in the second half of the year.

Until 1996.

Then look at the list. Beginning with Brady Anderson (a guy who hit 50 home runs that year and never more than 24 in any other season in his career), there were 12 instances of a player who hit more than 20 in the second half of the year. Most telling are the 30+ home runs hit in the second half of a season by Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds.

That's data. And I'm sorry, but when you couple that data with each players' changes in physical appearance over the years, performance enhancing drug use just screams out at you. It's my contention that one of the reasons steroids changed the game is that players are more able to maintain their peak performance throughout the year than they would without them. Never mind the additional distance and power the hitters were able to achieve, just look at how they maintained their health for the entirety of the season.

Here is some more minor data to support that, in this case, Alex Rodriquez: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rodrial01.shtml

From 1996 when he was 20 years old to 2000 when he was 24, he had only 1 season where he played in 160+ games. Beginning in 2001, when he was 25, in 5 of the next 6 years he played in at least 161 games. Not coincidentally, in 2001, he hit over 50 home runs for the first time. By his own admission, those were the years he began using steroids. Play longer at your peak and inflate your numbers. Don't you think you'd be more likely to play a full season when you're 20 or 21 than when you're 29?

The bottom line is that baseball statistics are nearly sacred to American sports fans. If I say 61 or .406, you know exactly what those numbers mean, and who achieved them. So when something taints those numbers and their meaning, it taints the entire sport and its legacy. It's a shame really. Let me ask you this question: if you were offered a guaranteed contract for $114 millions dollars in exchange for taking steroids and negatively impacting your health seven years later, would you do it? Jason Giambi did.

But I'll close out with a little bit of, OK maybe a lot of, cynicism. It's not just baseball folks. It's just about every sport there is if there's enough money involved. Golf might be an exception. It's simply not possible to compete in professional sports without them. If someone's doing it, they're skewing the average and I just don't think that there are any natural athletes able to compete with those who do. So the pressure will always be there to do it. Look for athletes that respond with "I never failed a drug test" as their response. Big deal. Do I suspect Lance Armstrong used them? Yes, I do, but only because of the statistical improbability that he was such an outlier in a sport of probable users for such a long time. Do I suspect Brock Lesnar used them? Yes, I do, but only because of the environment he was in with the WWE and the physique he had back then. It's just not physically possible to carry that much muscle mass and so little body fat with out drugs. Sure, you could be the one in one billion genetic freak that does, but I'm not buying it. He was with the WWE, an organization forever associated with steroid and other drug use. Is Brock clean now, ever since he began his MMA career? He could very well be, and I wouldn't necessarily doubt it. But he's softer now, his physique is more in line with that of a natural athlete than a professional bodybuilder.

I'm just at the point where it's getting tougher to be a fan of any sport, because I'm simply so suspicious about anyone's ability to perform so well for so long. Do I hope the truly outstanding athletes like BJ Penn and George St. Pierre are drug-free? Absolutely. Would I be surprised if they weren't? Sadly, I wouldn't.

Proposition Wager

2010-01-11T15:21:00.003-05:00

This should be good.....

We have a prop bet that is just now going public. Feel free to find a betting parter and make your own wagers.

Who is "we" you ask?

It's me and G-Rob.

Here's the bet and the background.

On July 10th, 2010, G-Rob will have a weigh in and must have lost at least 75 lbs. from his 334 lb. starting weight. He must get down to 259 lbs. by that date or pay me $300.

My end of the deal is as follows: On July 11th, 2010, in Gaffney, South Carolina, I will run a 10k road race in 52:30 or less. That's effectively 6.21 miles at an 8:27 pace. I have never run more than 5 miles at once in my life.

If we both succeed or both fail, the bet is a push. For the payoff to occur, one must succeed and the other must fail.

Of course, he's already sending me texts and calling me to quit now and just ship it because he can't looooose. He ha' full house!. Not.

I started my program yesterday, and with the help of a secret weapon, plan on destroying him, his lack of self-discipline, and his penchant to give up after 2 months. I told him to stop texting me until he hits the 275 lb. mark and cries that he can't lose any more.

As I just told him, I'll be having steak for dinner, with a full tasty glass of.....

here it comes....

BEER.

Mmmmmm...can you taste it? I can.

SHIP IT!

New Year's Day Tourney Pic Dump

2010-01-10T20:10:00.017-05:00

With apologies to Pauly and the term "pic dump," here are a few taken after I was unceremoniously eliminated.

MrsBlood trying to get a read on the uni-GRob-bomber.

Brian the Red - a Charlotte regular.

TheMark - with my chips. Bastard! The Gooch looks on in the foreground.

Jim the Knife massaging his chip stack.

Another side view of TheMark, smiling, with BadBlood's chips.

Alan Shaw and new guy John Teer.

The always jovial Falstaff, a staple at the BadBlood poker table.

Losers Lounge - Wolverine and Frank the Tank

The Rankster (left) and The Rocket (center), guys from the old Thursday night game.

Good ole Shep, Falstaff and Alan Shaw.

Special K knee deep in the action.

Your eventual winner acting camera shy. It's not like he's on TV or anything.

Random101, Tressa, and Jim the Knife.

Special K looking mean.

The Gooch, MrsTheMark, and Papa Skoon from front to back.

Danny smiling, even though he's just been eliminated with....

KK vs. AA.....

Count me in....as always.

2010-01-09T10:13:00.001-05:00

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker! PokerStars.com is the home of Free Online Poker Games, bloggers can play for free in the exclusive WBCOOP tournament, register here to play: WBCOOP

Registration code: 361182

6th Annual New Year's Day Tournament

2010-01-05T16:34:00.002-05:00

It started back in 2005. I'd met a couple of local poker players via the Intarweb; and in an attempt to foster a local home game community, decided to host a poker tournament on New Year's Day. We had a small 14-person turn out that year and some small stakes cash games followed. The next year, I figured I'd do it again. And somehow, along the way, it became a bit of a tradition. This year was no exception, 24 players showed up to play in the 6th Annual BadBlood's New Year's Day Event.

Of the previous champions, four of the five were in attendance to try to become the first repeat champion, none so much so as last year's holder of the luckbox, G-Rob. Only TeamScottSmith was missing from the lineup of former winners. As people arrived for the 2pm start to eat and drink, I was anticipating only one thing. Not winning.

While my NLHE tournament game has never been really sharp, I'd spent the last year playing almost exclusively cash games - NLHE live, and PLO online. Occasionally, maybe a dozen times, I'd play a PLO tournament on Full Tilt, but any skills I may have had in NLHE tournaments has languished in mental atrophy. Sound like an excuse? That's because it probably is.

I lost half my stack within the first 30 minute level to a turned set and a turned nut straight with a straight flush redraw against Gucci Rick. My expectations were being met. Somehow, I survived into level 4 with about 3k left of my 5k starting stack. Frank the Tank and former champion Wolverine had already met their fate and were relegated to the loser's couch to watch college football.

My fate would soon be the same as I lost a race with AK to TheMark's QQ all-in preflop. I had TheMark barely covered, but thanks to doubling him up, he'd make a run at another cash. I was forced all in on my next big blind and lost to the nut flush of Brian the Red, out in 22nd. Not a very good showing. I wandered around the house a bit and snapped some pictures to commemorate the event and continue to run the tournament. The cash games wouldn't be starting for a while it seemed.

Slowly, but surely (if you followed my Twitter feed that day), a certain name kept coming up in conversation as acquiring chips in the most varied of ways: G-Rob. He was pushing around his table and getting there when behind and holding up when ahead. The most egregious of hands that I heard was when he called the Ranksters all-in preflop bet with 7,5 suited. The Rankster had pocket Queens but was quickly behind on the 77x flop. He never improved. The last I saw of the Rankster was him shaking his head and walking to the kitchen, flumoxed at yet another G-Rob confrontation.

The tournament was paying the top 5, and the bubble seemed to last quite a bit longer than normal, with 3 out of the final 6 all related. TheMark, his brother GucciRick and his wife MrsTheMark all were left alive. Unfortunately for TheMark, he bubbled the tournament, and left to go host his regular Friday night game.

Gucci Rick bowed out in 5th to MrsTheMark, his pocket Tens no good against her Jacks. Brian the Red was next out in 4th and SteveJax, brother of TripJax, was the next victim of a G-Rob attack. SteveJax's AQ lost to G-Rob's AT with a ten on the river. It was heads up for the title and G-Rob was relishing the assignment of the #defendingchamp Twitter hash tag.

We had since started a $1/$1 $100-max cash game and some players were waiting for a 2nd game to start. I walked into the heads up match and informed G-Rob and MrsTheMark what the prize pool would be if they were to chop. Coupled with splitting the last longer bet, the dollar figure was sufficient for G-Rob to relinquish his chip advantage and take the even money split with the last hand determining the official champion.

G-Rob had A4o, MrsTheMark had J2o. A two hit the river. But of course it gave G-Rob the wheel, the title, and the right to say he's the only two-time winner of the BadBlood New Year's Day tournament. Then he made perhaps his smartest poker decision of the day. He opted out of the cash game and went home, guaranteeing a start to 2010 firmly in the black.

Here are the final results, congratulations to everyone who cashed:

1. G-Rob
2. MrsTheMark
3. SteveJax
4. Brian the Red
5. Gucci Rick
6. TheMark
7. Rocket
8. Tressa
9. NewGuyJohnT
10. Jim the Knife
11. Alan Shaw
12. TripJax
13. Rankster
14. Shep
15. Skoon
16. Falstaff
17. SpecialK
18. MrsBlood
19. DannyVanA
20. Random101
21. Stan the Man
22. BadBlood
23. Wolverine
24. Frank the Tank

Just Because

2009-12-09T19:58:00.001-05:00

I am 36,000 feet in the air. That is all. Wait! Ty to Otis for the free drink ticket

One

2009-12-08T10:16:00.003-05:00

The loneliest number

The song Metallica played at the Grammy's the year Jethro Tull won Best Heavy Metal Artist

- (e^(i*pi))

Days until I'm in Vegas

See y'all soon, recaps when I get back.

RFI

2009-12-04T10:29:00.002-05:00

Are there any readers out there who have signed up for the Full Tilt security token? If so, care to share your experiences? I have one for my work VPN, so I'm aware of how they work and what they do. I'm just looking for anyone's experience with ordering and activating it.

There are two options - physical token, and software-based token that will run on your phone.

Thanks in advance.

Nine

2009-11-30T10:36:00.002-05:00

Wikipedia states, "9 (nine) is the natural number following 8 and preceding 10. The ordinal adjective is ninth." Oddly, no mention on that site about the number of days before I'm in Vegas. What a garbage site, no utility whatsoever.

I'm wearing a hefty pair of lollerskates thinking about how much work I'll get done between now and then. Here are some things I am thinking about:

Number of work days until Vegas: 7

Number of workouts until Vegas: 5

Number of live poker sessions until Vegas: 2

And in the totally random department, number of free mp3 downloads I received from Amazon for ordering my kids Christmas presents there last week: 5

(For those who care and for those who don't)

i. You Shook Me - Loudness

ii. No One Gets Left Behind - Five Finger Death Punch

iii. The Air That I Breathe - The Hollies

iv. Cracklin' Rosie - Neil Diamond

v. I Only Wanna Be With You - Volbeat

Live poker at the Gooch tonight. See you folks in 9 or 10.

Stack and a Story - Vol III

2009-11-23T08:24:00.003-05:00

This stack is from this past Friday night. You should see 2 purples ($100), 5 stacks (40 in height) of $5, 1 stack of $25's (20) and some more $5's and $1's. Here's the hand of the night that helped me get into this position:

The blinds at this game are $1/3 and I open raised to $10 with KdKh with an effective stack of $600. TheMark, sitting directly to my left, re-popped it to $30 and the BB (a player I've not played with) flat called. At this point, I'm putting both on either big Aces or mid-to-high pocket pairs. You'll see why this preflop analysis on my part turned out to be problematic.

Not one to smooth call when I think I'm ahead, I re-raised to $130. I should find out if TheMark has Aces here, however he's been known to flat a four bet with them, so I was wary. I figured the BB would fold, but he again smooth called $100 more. I thought that was odd.

The flop came T99 rainbow. BB checked and I put out a bet of only $150. Why? Well to be honest I hated that flop. Pocket Tens is right in that pre-flop smooth calling range of the BB. I don't like his passive play, but he was deep and I suppose that could have been his style. I also wanted to find out if anyone was willing to raise that bet since it was so small compared to the pot size. At this point, the pot was pretty big and I don't think any one was going to bluff at it since nobody had much fold equity given the remaining stack sizes.

TheMark ended up folding, claiming AK suited later on. Then the BB surprised me and check-raised me to $350. Ugh. Exactly what I didn't want to hear.

So I went into the tank. I looked for tells. I asked him, "Did you really flop a full house?" Luckily for me, I had been paying attention to his play in previous hands and based on that, his response to my questioning (a certain live tell that's been reliable to me), and the pre-flop action, I finally said, "Well if you did, good for you. I'm all in."

He deflated immediately. All he could say was, "I guess I have to call now." The board came 5 and then a Q. His pocket 3's were no good. I almost folded to his flop check-raise, I almost did. But you can't build a stack and a story by folding.

Stack and a Story

2009-11-18T10:20:00.002-05:00

This is my favorite stack of all time. I'll try to explain.

The chip denominations are $25, $10, $5, and $1 from left to right. I also had some bills as you can see. This poker night was a night like no other and will most likely never be reproduced for as long as I play.

Early on, I lost my first buy-in of $300 with KK to AA on a 9-high flop. Semi-cooler, but it happens. The guy playing AA never re-raised me until it was too late for me to fold. I re-bought for $600 and from then on never lost a showdown.

We've had big stacks at Gucci Rick's before. But the pic you see before you represents the biggest stack and biggest profit of all time. Yeah, I'm going all Barry Horowitz and patting myself on the back. But I really didn't play all that great, I just hit a run of cards that was truly amazing.

At one point in the night, I had $4000 in front of me. For a $1/$2 game, that's pretty redonkulous. There is really no better feeling in the poker world - a huge stack, an unbreakable confidence, and the knowledge that everyone at the table is envious of your chips.

A Stack and a Story

2009-11-17T11:56:00.003-05:00

Here's another attempt at doing something that probably won't last as long as intended. Feel free to copy the idea, in fact, I encourage it. Here's the concept: Post a picture of a chip stack you've taken while at the tables and see if there's a story behind it. Even if it's just a small anecdote. Here's attempt #1:

The date was June of 2008. I was bumming yet another free room off of Otis who was doing his duty to God and Pokerstars by covering the WSOP $50k HORSE event. If I recall correctly, it was a Wednesday and G-Rob wasn't slated to be there until the next afternoon.

I remember my first thoughts were to go find a $1/$2 NL game at the Rio. As many of you most likely know, the Rio will spread $1/$2 NL in its regular poker room during the WSOP, but all cash games in the Amazon Ballroom were $2/$5 and up. I recall beginning my walk away from all the action and then doing a double take.

What a pansy. I'm at the Rio, during the WSOP, and I'm walking AWAY from the Amazon room to go play poker. That didn't make any sense. I turned my self right around and immediately bought into a $2/$5 game for $500 and ordered a Grey Goose on ice, straight up.

I played well, even surviving a guest appearance from TheMark at my table, and then took this picture at the height of my profit. $1420 and as TheTrooper97 would say, a G-bar in chips. I would later cash out for a little under $1400 and set the stage for a profitable visit.

Gambling Tales Podcast

2009-11-12T10:00:00.001-05:00

I'm famous! Well...not really. But check out the Special-K/Falstaff podcast.

“Press release” from bloggers Falstaff and Special K

Gambling Tales Podcast is now available. Join Falstaff (John Hartness) and Special K (Curtis Krumel) as we take you through the best in lies and legends about gambling today and through the ages. . Show #001 with Badblood and the origins of gambling is available immediately. New shows are scheduled to appear every two weeks. Guests scheduled to appear in future shows include Dr. Pauly, Lee Jones, Dr. David Schwartz (UNLV – Roll the Bones)

The podcast is available at http://www.gtpodcast.com

RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/GamblingTalesPodcast

Available on iTunes at http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=339814710.

It will be searchable on iTunes by the weekend.

Email address for Questions, Comments, and Suggestions: gtpodcast@live.com

Gadget Junkie

2009-11-10T12:35:00.002-05:00

I love electronic toys. Without question. If it's cool and I can afford it, I want it. I can't explain it so I won't try. As of this writing, I'm in sort of a conundrum. I'm hoping my tech-savvy readers can guide me.

Statements of fact:

I oh so dearly want an iPhone. I covet my neighbor's phone.

I am currently on the Verizon network.

My entire family is on the Verizon network.

I get a 22% discount.....on the Verizon network.

My current phone is a Blackberry Curve.

My contract ends in June of 2010.

Options available to me:

1. Wait until June of 2010. Switch over to AT&T, leaving my family with Verizon. Get the latest, coolest available iPhone. Wipe drool off the box before I open it and make sexy time with it.

2. Go to the local Verizon store. TODAY. Purchase a Motorola Droid phone. Play with it. Understand it's still a cool toy. Stay on Verizon. Manage my conflicting emotions of the pleasure of buying a new toy and the lustful yearning of two more years without an iPhone.

Sigh.

Oh wait. There's option 3. Perform option 1 TODAY and pay early termination fee at Verizon. Because I am a lustful, non-logical individual addicted to tech toys. Now. Must have. Now.

Root, Root, Root for the Home Team

2009-11-02T11:00:00.001-05:00

I'm a pretty big sports fan. Not all sports mind you, but enough of them such that most of my live TV viewing is dominated by athletic competition. Since I was born and bred in the North Shore area of Massachusetts, you can imagine where my allegiances lie. Moreso than anything, I've been a diehard Red Sox fan since 1976 when my parents took me to my first game at Fenway. I remember asking why everyone cheered so hard for that Yaz guy.

Beginning in 2001, I became a very spoiled sports fan. The Patriots won 3 Superbowls, the Sox won 2 World Series and even the Celtics grabbed another NBA championship. (I actually used to be a huge hockey fan and would live and die with each Bruins season. Go Terry O'Reilly!) One thing that all those championships taught me was how to appreciate being a fan. Not just a fan of the teams, but a fan of the game, of the competition.

A bunch of my blogging friends are huge fans of particular teams, and I'll be honest, I start rooting for them to experience the same feelings I had when my favorite teams won.

AlCantHang's a huge Phillies and Eagles fan, so when they're successful, I'm happy for him.

Drizz is a huge Vikings fan. It's hard not to hope the Vikings eventually nab a Superbowl victory.

My friend Randy at work is a huge Peyton Manning fan. As a Pats fan, you think I could root for the Colts? I do actually, only if the Pats have been eliminated though. It's hard not to respect Peyton Manning and his accomplishments.

MeanGene - huge Steelers fan, along with my buddy TheAxeman. Am I glad they got to see a couple of Superbowl victories in their lifetimes? Absolutely.

G-Rob and Kentucky basketball. As long as they're not playing Cornell, I can root for them. So that would mean always.

Joe Speaker and the A's? I know he can't stand the Sox, but even I can respect the A's for competing the way they have for years in the Moneyball era.

StB and the Cowboys...I could go on and on.

Anyway, without being too holier than thou, one of the things I hope for is that people can root for their teams without hating on other teams and their fans. Hatred is obviously too strong a word, but is it a requirement that to be a fan of one team, you must hate all others? I understand rivalries have their places in sports, how could I not being from Boston? Again, perhaps I'm spoiled from the success my teams have had, but even I can recognize and respect when the teams and players I'm supposed to hate succeed.

Just curious what everyone else thinks? Maybe that's part of the enjoyment of sports that flies over my head. Only one team can hoist the trophy each year and I do know that misery loves company.

Quick Note of Thanks

2009-10-30T07:27:00.003-05:00

A lot of generous readers contributed to Mrs_Blood's Avon Walk-a-thon for Breast Cancer research. Last weekend, she walked 26.2 miles on Saturday and then 13.1 more miles on Sunday. I just wanted to thank everyone again for being so giving. Here's a shot of her (2nd from right) and her walking buddies crossing the finish line.

Metal Wednesday?

2009-10-13T20:13:00.002-05:00

Wrong day. No Steel Foot. Whatever.

Ozzy has a new guitarist if you hadn't heard. You may not even care. Normally, I wouldn't either. However, occasionally, sometimes an odd mix of talent will infuse some life into an otherwise stagnant artist. To wit - Marty Friedman joining Megadeth. Rust in Peace was that which resulted and to this day stands out as Megadeth's best album to date. In my opinion of course.

So I'm hoping that replacing Zakk Wylde with Gus G. will do the same thing for Ozzy. Who is Gus G? He's a shredder for sure, but he's one of my favorites. Formerly of Nightrage, who are NOT disbanded, he's now lead guitarist for Firewind. Here's a vid showcasing some of his chops. I like it, you may or may not. \m/

Stupid Blog Post

2009-10-09T23:14:00.002-05:00

Stupid?

Yes.

Why?

Because it's about the game known as PLO.

Here's what I've learned in about 50,000 hands.

...

That's about it.

Thought I knew what I was doing, I really did. Started off slow, losing about 3 buy-ins. Went on a 25 buy-in uptick, give or take, in about 10,000 hands. Next 10,000 hands or so, lost 20 buy-ins.

I'm still up.

But I'm pretty sure that when you get it in with the nuts and lose so often, well, I all can say is, "Head, meet wall."

Smash.

Interlude - A Poker Hand

2009-09-16T07:26:00.002-05:00

Warning: What you about to real is real and unedited. When you are finished reading the following poker hand recap, you will feel dumber for having done so. The names are changed to protect the innocent, the donkeys and the raging tilters.

The game is 1/2 NL with a $300 max buy-in. The game has been going several hours and there are multiple buy-ins on the table. A "rock" is in play, a forced $5 straddle under the gun. The table is 9 handed.

The pre-flop action. Player 1 limps for $5. Player 2 raises to $25. Player 3 calls. Player 4 calls. Player 5, on the button, raises to $105. Player 6, the $5 straddle calls. Player 1, the limper, calls. Player 2, 3, and 4, the initial raiser and two callers also call.

$630 in the pot. Preflop. Two complete buy-ins. Nobody in the hand has a pot-sized bet left.

The flop comes 458, rainbow. Five checks and we're back to the button. He bets $300.

Straddler, Player 6 folds A5 suited. Limper, Player 1, folds unknown cards. Initial raiser, Player 2, folds pocket tens. Player 3 check-raises all in for $450 claiming, "I'll gamble." Player 4 reluctantly folds top pair, unknown kicker. Player 5, facing a $150 raise into a $1350 pot calls with an unimproved AJo.

I'll let you pause, and perhaps re-read the action, because I haven't even got to the good part yet.

Done?

OK. Player 3, says, I just have top pair and flips up Jack of spades.........

......

......

...... and the 3 of spades?????

"Oh no....I mis-read my hand," he said.

Player 5 has him crushed. The board is 458 rainbow and Player 3 is drawing to 3 outs. He can't even draw to runner-runner flush. A 6,7 can get a chop, but that's about it. It's an epic mis-read.

Player 5, perhaps being gracious, perhaps being risk-averse, offers Player 3 a chance to run it twice. Player 3, now realizing what bad shape he's in, immediately agrees.

First run: Turn 3, river brick.
Second run: Turn 3, river brick.

Player 3 scoops a $1500 pot.

This hand officially breaks the record for dumbest $1500 poker hand of all time.

Steel Foot Memories - # 97

2009-09-09T10:33:00.001-05:00

From my favorite adventures in Intelligent Travel Booking Procedures:

After looking at my Yahoo flight schedule printout, she said “That’s odd, I don’t think we even have a 12:35 flight today.” Meanwhile, because my luck has been running so well, I simply figured they either changed the flight time or possibly the flight number and within a few short minutes, I’d be happily on my way.

She continued inspecting my printout then said, “Umm, do you realize that your return flight is not scheduled for August 6th?”

“Huh? Come again?”

“It says right here, return trip – Wednesday September 6th.”

Major malfunction.

Realizing that I had mis-clicked the month on the Yahoo travel reservation page, I was still holding onto the hope that this agent could still get me back home the same day. However, after about ten minutes of furiously typing on her keypad, she said “The earliest I can confirm a seat for you back to Greenville is Tuesday August 8th.”

My personal How-Fucked-Am-I-Meter rose to “Mildly.”

Steel Foot Memories - # 98

2009-09-04T11:10:00.001-05:00

Apparently, I can't count. It's 14 weeks, not 13 weeks until Vegas. If I only had more fingers.

Here's a quick one about my tendency to abuse female dealers in Vegas....

"I’m not 100% sure, but I believe I had just sucked out on Michael Craig at the $2/$6 Vegas Hold ‘em table at the Excalibur. I raised my fists in jubilation, not knowing that the next dealer for the table was standing right behind me. Bam! I connected with her right orbital socket. I immediately apologized, but the dealer seemed, shall we say, not too pleased. She sat down and I gave her $2, because you know, I’m a big spender. Anyway, I kept tipping her all I could until she at least smiled once. It wasn’t until later that I found out she was pregnant."

Steel Foot Memories - # 90

2009-09-03T12:52:00.000-05:00

From August of 2006....

"The noise preceded their entrance by about 30 seconds. Very drunk and very loud, five new players joined the game. Huge wads of cash and yellow $1000 chips fell from their pockets onto the table. All five players bought in for the max - $500. They were all from Norway, fresh from a monster run at the craps table and ready to play some cards. Or so I thought.

They occupied seats 1 through 5, and on the first hand when the 10 seat made a standard pre-flop raise, seat 2 came over the top.

For $500.

“Oh boy,” I thought to myself, “this is going to get crazy.”

The tourist who tilted the Australian douche bag went into the tank. “What the hell is he thinking about?” I thought. Did he have TT, JJ, or AK. Nah, nothing like that. Tourist called the pre-flop all-in from the drunk Norwegian in the 2 seat with KTo. What did Norway have? AJo. The Ace held up, the tourist was busted, and we were on our way."

Steel Foot Memories - # 91

2009-09-02T07:44:00.003-05:00

Here's an endeavor that will likely go nowhere; like Lamb of God's latest, this is Set to Fail. However, you can't fault a man for trying.

****

Something To Look Forward To. STLFT. Steel Foot. There are exactly 13 weeks between now and the WPBT Vegas trip. It's the 5th anniversary of the first time we got together back in December of '04. In an attempt to bring some level of anticipation to this forthcoming trip, I will post a quick memory of Vegas trips past on a daily basis. That's the setup. The payoff will be commensurate with your investment....

****

"Not long after I see Otis and what I originally thought was one of his Missouri posse hanging out on the rail. Oddly, this other guy seemed to be staring at me in a way that made me slightly uncomfortable. He was staring with this wry smile and at first I thought he was sizing me up so he could kick my ass later. Being on the friendly side, after I folded a hand, I went to introduce myself. I asked Otis if this was a friend of his. Otis replied, “I just met him.” Odd. Nonetheless, I introduced myself and he mentioned something about being a fan of my blog. Even more odd. My blog’s not really anything to write home about, unless you like heavy metal and strippers.

So I went back to my seat and again watched as this person stared at me. Finally, after a couple more minutes, this guy mouths the words, “I’m Iggy.” Ok, now my pants weren’t dry, for I shat them. The man, the myth, the non-dwarf??? I cashed out and immediately went with Iggy and Otis to the Sherwood Forest for drinking and drinking and more drinking."

It's The Final Friday

2009-08-28T15:37:00.002-05:00

It's not always you can book your next trip to Vegas before you finish a trip report from your last visit, but when your blogging rate drops to the G-Rob levels, that's what happens. I've also become a bit lazy too. Combine that with my work-based free time approaching nil (that's British for nothing; remember, I'm bi-lingual), and these posts become about as infrequent as AlCantHang's sobriety.

Rather than bore you with my take on day 2 in Vegas, let me simply re-direct you to this.

I'll jump right into day 3 if you'll allow me to. Hopefully I can remember it all. I do know that it was a Friday.

****

The plan was to perform the impossible. Take a regular run of the mill Procedure and improve it. I felt that the only way to improve something so well-refined would be to make it something that could only happen in Vegas. After all, you really can perform a Procedure anywhere. Even in your own house. If you know the right people.

But what to add? I'd debated for months on how it could be done, but somehow, someway, the Procedure needed to include Sushi and a Steel Panther show. So with that in mind, Friday in Vegas became Final Friday and those of us who were there were on a mission the likes of which General Patton couldn't have completed.

****

From my perspective, the cornerstone of Final Friday was the drinking phase. There is a fine line between not drinking enough and drinking far too much such that often times, you fail to optimize your enjoyment. Watching a pro like AlCantHang for the past five years, I figured that his method was finely tuned. Sipping hard liquor with a water back seemed like my best bet. And thanks to being in the Venetian poker room (seriously, why play anywhere else) I decided upon the following: The Glenlivet and 4/8 Omaha 8 or better with a half-kill.

I know what you're thinking. Limit poker? Yes, limit poker. I had already won a buy-in at 1/3 NL before the Final Friday gang showed up and I figured I'd book that win. Because the plans for this day had been detailed so painstakingly, I felt it was the best choice. I really didn't want to sour my mood in any fashion by making a donk, lose-my-stack play at the no-limit tables. Cautious, yes, but boring, no. Not with the company who was trickling into the room.

For a while, the game was going strong with 2-tables filled with bloggers. Me, Otis, Al, CK, F-Train, Amy Callistri, PokerShrink and even Change100 made their way into the game. Pauly was busy elsewhere in the room, stacking foreigners ruthlessly. We even got the Venetian to deal a mixed game of Stud8, O8, Razz, Badugi, and 2-7 Triple Draw. When it was time to pack up and go get some sushi, I was riding the crest of the perfectly buzzed wave and cashing out a Drizz-like 7 racks of whites. I ran sick good. Phase One and Two complete.

****

CK and F-Train being locals, and more importantly having a car, graciously helped us with our sushi dining experience. They made reservations for us at Naked Fish and off we went. In the twenty minutes it takes to get from the Venetian casino to Durango Drive we probably passed 50 Asian massage parlors. And I'm not exaggerating. Some day we'll include a Rub 'n Tug to the Procedure, but not this time.

Dinner was quite frankly one of the most amazing dinners I've ever had. I'm no Boy Genius foodie type, but I'd say that it will be tough to top that sushi anywhere else. If you've not ever gone, give it a try if you're into the raw fish.

Phase Three complete.

****

We were a bit pressed for time. Phase Four would have to be quick. We had to get to Green Valley Ranch by midnight for Steel Panther and didn't want to get shut out of the show. I won't go into details here because not everyone completed Phase Four. Based on my expenditures on Day 2, even I didn't purchase any "experiences" at Phase Four. Pretty amazing. It almost brings up a philosophical question: If you go to a strip club and don't get a lap dance, did you really go to a strip club? Questions like this have confounded philosophers and degenerates for ages. We'll table the debate for another time.

So, while all of us where there, not all of us were there.

****

Finally, we arrived at Phase Five. We were almost complete with the nearly impossible Final Friday. We were still a bit later than we wanted to be and the line out of Ovations where Steel Panther play was growing long. We made a command decision and I greased the floor to let us in and secure us a table. We were required to drink at least $150 worth of alcohol. I think Al said, "That's it?"

Earlier in the day (warning, this might be a little gay), I sent a Tweet to Steel Panther's guitarist to play Asian Hooker during the show. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Instead, intermingled with all the cover songs they were playing, we heard Death To All But Metal and Community Property instead. Fair exchange. I did actually get a reply the next day from Satchel saying to text him earlier the next time. I nearly dropped my BlackBerry when I saw the reply. Ah. Being a fanboy. It's the little things that matter.

When the show was over, Otis caught up with some Stars folks who also had attended the show. If I recall correctly, Evelyn Ng, Maridu, and Adam Levy were there. Evelyn is tall. Very tall. That's all I really remember since I hadn't stopped drinking at any point during Final Friday. Being caught between super-buzzed and the beginnings of obliteration, I felt the only logical thing to do would be to attack the Green Valley poker room.

You could call it Phase Five A.

Since it was late, the poker room was nearly empty. We were all seated at the same 4/8 limit hold 'em table. Yeah, I said limit hold 'em. More limit poker? Why the hell not. Collectively, we tilted the hell out of the locals. They were horrible anyway, but by the time the session was over, only me, Al and F-Train had chips.

Somehow, I had won over $700 for the day at 4/8 limit poker. That just sounds dumb. But it's true. It made for the perfect conclusion of a perfect day and night in Vegas.

Final Friday. I'm not sure it will ever be topped.

But of course, that won't stop me from trying.

Day 1 Nears End

2009-07-29T09:22:00.002-05:00

Rub. I'll admit that upon first glance, I wasn't thrilled to be eating BBQ. Obviously had there been an "N Tug" appended to the name, I'd have sprinted to get there. I wasn't too far removed from my lunch, so I intended to eat light. Ha. Eat light. At Rub. The portions are pretty damned big. I ordered the smoked turkey, coleslaw and shredded onion rings because that's what people trying to get shredded do. If I were a connoisseur (did I just use that word?) of BBQ food, my opinion on the meal may have carried more weight. However, even still, based on what everyone else ordered, and the quality of the meat, I'll give it a thumbs up. Price tag was about $30 per person, give or take.

Interesting side note. AlCantHang turned down prop-bet money to eat the remaining 9 pieces of bacon he ordered. Yeah, I just outed you.

After dinner, the gang from media row went back to work, thinking there'd be another six or seven hours of play until the Noviembre Nueve were established. Sick bilingualism right there. Especially with the French word used 2 paragraphs ago. I'll pause here so you can digest it sufficiently. There.

I went back to the Rio poker room and sat my outclassed self at the 1-3 game. Even though I was outmatched at the 2-5 game that was still running, I nonetheless found that the 1-3 game continued to be easy and boring. I cashed out because when I looked at the LCD showing the available games, I saw something pretty inspiring. PLO. I bolted for the open seat.

I didn't win or lose much, but I had a ton of fun. It was the first B&M PLO experience for me, having only played it live at local home games. There was, and I kid you not, a blonde guy named Lars from Sweden raising every pot. Just like online. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't very good. At showdown, when his opponent tabled top two pair, he showed his 4 hole cards thinking he'd win the pot. AAJJ, with neither of those ranks on board. "I have a higher two-pair," he said. When he finally went bust (he had about $900 in front when I sat down), and I didn't get any of it, the game lost some of its flair.

Then, to pretty much every one's surprise, the Main Event was over before 11pm local time. That only meant one thing, off to the Hooker Bar and -EV games at the Gold Coast.

More Day 1

2009-07-27T08:26:00.001-05:00

If you've ever listened to Bart Hanson's "Cash Plays" poker podcast, you'd be aware of one of his common themes while talking about playing no-limit hold 'em. Value. Every action you take, every bet, should be designed to earn you some value. I happen to agree with this concept and think that nowhere in the course of a hand is value more important than on the river.

The pots are bigger on the river. The decisions are therefore more important, especially when you are playing deep stacked. When I sat down at the 2/5 table at the Rio and bought in for $500, I committed mistake number one. While I certainly covered most players, there were two others with nearly $2000 in chips and $100 bills positioned in front of them. Both players were extremely aggressive, but the play of one of them stood out to me for the reason mentioned above. He was the best player I'd ever played with when extracting value on the river against his opponents.

He raised very frequently, opening for $20 if folded to him. Continuation bets were the norm and even when his opponents played back at him post flop or on the turn, he seemed to know exactly where he was in relation to their holdings. He must have made over $1000 on river bets alone in the time I sat there. Nearly each time he'd fire out a river bet, I was praying for his opponent to call because I was sure he was effectively bluffing. But each time he'd get called, flip up middle pair, 9-kicker, his opponent would simply muck. It was amazing, and I'll admit, a bit inspiring.

Meanwhile, I was sitting there making more mistakes.

I lost half my stack with AQ suited all-in preflop against a short stack who I felt was shoving out of frustration. Turns out he had Queens and I failed to suck out. The rest of my stack went away when I flopped top two pair against middle set. No 2-outer for me and I reloaded. I then just watched and learned since I was card dead and couldn't do much against the two aggressive players without putting my entire newly reloaded stack at risk.

****

Thankfully, I got the text from Otis that they were going on dinner break and eating at a place called Rub. Rather than dwell further on my miscues, I took the opportunity to join them. Missing out on eating with friends is one mistake I didn't want to make.

Preamble - Day 1

2009-07-24T15:05:00.001-05:00

Day 1 as it were. The travel began early, I was up at 4:30 am to catch a 6:00 am flight out of friendly GSP. Thankfully, by the time I'd reach Las Vegas, absolutely nothing of note happened. I like that. No complications. I was travelling alone with a backpack and a carry-on and figured my free room hookup, otherwise known as Otis, would not yet be awake. After all, it was about 11:00am and when I boarded the plane back in Greenville, I was reading tweets from Pokerati and Pauly about some late night/early morning bowling. Surprisingly, Otis was awake and managed to beat me to the check-in line at Harrah's. With the room all taken care of, we ventured back to the Rio wherein the final day of the Main Event was progressing from 27 to 9 players.

Media row was pretty far removed from the action, but due to flat panel displays and relays from those close to the action, they could still keep tabs on the action. They were all there. Pauly, Al, Otis and his co-workers Stephen and Howard, Mean Gene, F-Train, Change100 and Jen. I hung out for a bit with no real rush to do anything. With the past year that I've gone through at work, just sitting around and relaxing was something I wasn't used to doing. What a welcome change that was.

Sensing that most everyone needed to get back to work at some point, I slithered away with plans to meet up later. I made a quick phone call to my grandmother who turned 97 that day. It's the small things that people appreciate and she certainly did enjoy talking to me from back in Florida. She wished me luck, I accepted it, and then I went to grab some grub at the All American Bar and Grille. First gambling of the trip was the video poker machine at the bar. Down a quick $20 with a steady drain of nothing cards. I sighed inside, but not too loudly. I did earn two free Heinekens. Like I said. The small things.

I found my way to the Rio poker room, a room I'd actually never played in. My only Rio poker play prior to this trip had been in the Amazon room. However, with just the Main Event going on, all poker action was relegated back to the normal, year-round location. I put my name on the 1/2 and 2/5 lists and waited.

I truly hate waiting. I am the worst at being patient when I have a pocket full of bills and a head full of monster pot daydreams. I couldn't sit down fast enough. And then when I did finally grab a seat at the 1/2 table, my anxiousness didn't go away. You see, the players at the 1/2 table I sat at were horrible. I can't describe to you how bad, but if you'll trust me enough, just understand that there was really no poker being played at the table. Mistake after mistake after mistake. I just sat there, not doing much of anything, except watching all the players make bet size and positional mistakes that would make you cringe.

Within the first orbit I was already up over $100. "That was easy," I thought, envisioning me pressing G-Rob's tilt-inducing Staples button. In fact, it might have been too easy. It bored me. I gazed over to the corner where the 2/5 game was playing and saw a seat open. My name got called, and I decided to rack up from the "boring" and "easy" game and sit at the 2/5 game.

Did I mention word mistake yet? Oh yes, just a few sentences ago. Luckily, I'm a pretty self-observant type of guy. I see myself making mistakes all the time. Even when I don't make mistakes, I over compensate and attribute them to myself anyway. Switching tables was a mistake. A big one. Word to the wise: Never play in the biggest game a poker room has to offer during mid-afternoon on a Wednesday. I failed miserably at table selection.

More to come...

Forthcoming

2009-07-22T19:50:00.003-05:00

I have a trip report to write. Suffice to say, it was an "ultimate" good time.

Spock's Brain

2009-07-08T08:04:00.002-05:00

It's a conundrum of sorts. If you're out to make the best decisions, you need access to the correct data and a process to filter it, manipulate it, and correctly choose from a well-defined set of options. You don't want to guess. Guessing involves hope. Guessing is a conscious effort to ignore some of the data. Why would you ignore valid data? Because it leads you to a conclusion you simply don't want to be true.

Spock would be a great limit poker player. Decision after decision based purely on his logic-driven conclusions. No-limit? He might be pretty good at that as well. He wouldn't tilt, that's certain. His success would be based on his ability to read other players and their emotions while hiding his own. We know he can do the latter, but only the true Trekkie would know about the former. After all, he's no Troi.

I battle with myself each poker session. I make an attempt to train myself to ignore emotionally-driven feelings at the poker table. The lament of a crushing bad beat. The disappointment of a 5th straight losing session. The martyrdom of inevitably getting it in bad and not sucking out like your luckbox opponents seem to always do. All of those things, if they occupy any of your mental energy, detract from your ability to make the best decision.

Lately, I sure as hell know what the worst decision is.

Call.

It's horrible. In theory, I want a smooth call by yours truly to frighten my opponents. But lately I've been calling too much and you can't scare everyone with a call when your frequency is so high.

Back to the conundrum. When can you take emotion completely out of your game? For one, by lowering the stakes. If you play at stakes far below your norm, your interest in the results go down. You've eliminated the negative emotions associated with losing when the magnitude is irrelevent.

But unfortunately, you've also eliminated the positive emotions of winning. And there's the catch. Why do you play? Do you play to win, or simply be right? Because you can be right and lose. A lot. So if you get no satisfaction from being right, then you're going to run into situations where the reason you're playing gets lost and the negativity of the results has no positive counterbalance.

Each action at the poker table is like a question on a test. What's the right answer? Can you figure it out? Why are you taking the test? To get a good score, or because it's an opportunity to learn?

Poker for me is a dichotomy of searching for that satisfaction of being right which requires me playing at stakes that mean something and the quelling of emotions that cloud my ability to make the best decision.

I need risk to feel the reward, but I don't want the feel of the risk to effect my ability to earn that reward.

Crazy game.

Late To The Party

2009-06-22T12:49:00.002-05:00

There are those that set trends. There are those who follow them. Then there are those who wait until the trends become tired and then act on them with a vigor proportional to their level of cluelessness.

To wit: I now possess two Affliction T-shirts.

If that didn't convince you, how about this?

Otis is heading to Vegas next Wednesday. So is TheMark, GucciRick, and a whole host of other G-Vegas denizens. Me? I just got back from vacation and can't go because of work obligations. I'd love to go. It's WSOP time. Hell, I'd even play in an event for the first time ever.

But sadly, that won't be the case.

Instead, and here's the subtle genius of being me, I've booked a trip to Vegas arriving the DAY THE WSOP IS OVER. Hopefully, some of the gang covering the event will be able to hang around until the weekend is over.

If not, well, 4 days of raging solo, here I come!

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T10:23:00.001-05:00

Wish I knew who the real father was....

This Post Requires No Words

2009-06-21T01:59:00.000-05:00

Masters of the Craft

2009-06-10T21:27:00.003-05:00

I read the 3rd paragraph of this post and felt like I have more work to do here.

Thrash. It started in the Bay Area with the likes of Metallica, Exodus, Overkill, Slayer. Since then, metal's evolved into other various, yet seemingly similar forms. Today's new wave, which includes the Lamb of God's, the Shadows Fall's, even the Killswitch Engage's, owe their roots to the original masters. Even the Extreme and Death metal varieties can't say they weren't influenced by Thrash's early years.

(I'm convinced that Cliff Burton's spirit helped form the Gothenburg Sound when he tragically passed in Sweden.)

Today, some bands keep Thrash alive. Here's one. Lazarus A.D. The ingredients may be the same, but they're mixed rather perfectly.

Not Good

2009-06-10T08:40:00.002-05:00

I would surmise that this news is not what I would call "good."

Web's Poker Winners Face Delays in Collecting

U.S. Deals Blow to Online-Poker Players

Group: Feds have frozen $30M of online poker winnings

All reputable sources.

Late Sunday is Still Early Monday

2009-05-25T00:35:00.002-05:00

First off, much thanks again to the folks over at Pokerlistings for allowing me to play in the Run Good Challenge. This week, there were 25 entrants vying for 2, count 'em, 2 seats to a $1500 WSOP event. Congrats to the TripleJax and Matt Showell for their wins.

Played some live poker on Thursday at what I affectionately call The Donkey Game. Man, all I can say is that this week, it was LOUD. So much so that I had trouble concentrating and when I dropped my first buy-in, I called it quits. Friday night at Falstaff's, however, made up for it. I always enjoy riding up there to play. Win or lose, the gang up there is simply so likable that the poker is at times inconsequential.

Saturday night was low key. The wife was out for a belated birthday dinner and I was stuck with the kids. And by stuck, I mean taking them to dinner at Texas Roadhouse and then buying the Metallica Guitar Hero and World Tour drum kit. Having my kids wake up on Sunday to say that "Sad But True" is their favorite song is a nice feeling. It was only eclipsed by Sunday's dinner when miniBlood said, "Dad, I think I like Seek and Destroy better." As Al would say, Old Shit > New Shit.

So, in the spirit of Metal Mondays, I leave you with these two links. Listening to XM's Liquid Metal is great, especially when I hear about new bands I'd not heard of before. I believe the following band is from Denmark. Somewhere I saw a link calling them Elvis Metal. Works for me. Get yer groove on with Volbeat:

Then, throw the horns, Hallelujah Goat!

Linkage

2009-05-16T09:19:00.002-05:00

Alrighty then. It's Saturday, I had yesterday off and had an enjoyable evening at the virtual felt while the wife was out gallivanting the streets of G-Vegas. I had no problem drinking alone, waiting for her to get home, hopefully slightly inebriated herself.

Today, there's the Run Good Challenge that the guys over at Pokerlistings are running. Sadly, I probably won't be able to play because I'm meeting a few degenerates from Charlotte (re: Falstaff, Jim the Knife, and Brian the Red) for a pre-homegame sushi mean downtown.

This will be a home game that is quite rare. Otis is in town but can't make it. I suppose he has a valid excuse.

So to everyone Running Good, good luck and may that $1500 WSOP seat be yours.

2009-05-04T11:58:00.002-05:00

Had a couple of sessions of successful live poker last week. Booked a nice G-bar+ profit at the GucciRick game on Monday, then traveled North to Asheville to play in a Lee Jones home game this past Saturday.

There's a quiet conglomeration of home games going on. There is a smaller stakes G-Vegas game every now and then hosted by yours truly, a Charlotte game at casa de Falstaff, and the aforementioned game in Asheville. All three groups are in moderate driving distance of each other and each group has a few members willing to make the drive.

It's turned into a perfect blend of socializing and poker. I'm not sure there's anything else I enjoy more. Mix in some winning play and I'll suffer life's burdens a bit easier during the week at work.

The Mrs. continues her walking ways. She gets in about 7 or 8 miles in a day, which although sounds like it's a lot, still isn't even 1/3rd the total she'll walk on her marathon. Again, much thanks and appreciation go out to all who've donated to her charity.

The kids are growing up faster and faster. My 11-year old daughter wants to "go out" with this cute boy in school. Uh. No. My 9-year old son, when asked about a girl whose birthday party he was attending, responded, "Dad, I don't like-like her." When did he start to know the difference?

This coming weekend, I will be displaying my running aptitude at a G-Rob work-based event called the "M & M Bowl" Good thing the field is not on an incline nor paved. Still, I wouldn't guarantee that I won't get hurt.

This evening before poker, I hope to meet Otis at the sushi joint where the red-headed waitress shows off her personally trained self in tight black clothing. Not that either of us has noticed.

And finally, in the interest of Metal Monday, here's a band called Luna Mortis. Combine some Euro-speed, clean/guttural vocal alternation, female-fronted thrash and you have the song "Ash." Enjoy.

Turning Things Around

2009-04-27T09:52:00.002-05:00

More poker/life ramblings....

The beauty of poker lies in its instant feedback. You play a hand well, don't get sucked out on, and rake in a big pot. The time between the good play and the stacking of chips was literally only seconds apart. Your brain is stimulated with a dopamine release and you want more of it.

On the negative side, when you're tilty, you shove all-in on a bad bluff or weak draw and lose. Still, the feedback is near instantaneous. Your chips are gone and so is your motivation to play well.

In the latter circumstance, sometimes all it takes is a good night's sleep to turn it around. You can recover. Your bankroll has withstood such hits before and with a new day and a new poker session come new opportunities to play well once again.

Life, though, is a bit different.

You screw up, whether you truly believe you did or not, the results are the same. Some form of negative feedback. Unfortunately, you can't just wake up the next day and fix it with a winning session. Life moves much slower than a poker game. Impressions on people last longer than a hand of poker.

It takes more discipline to turn things around in real life. Each day you have to make sure your mindset and your actions are tuned in to your intent. Making a change. Can you teach an old dog new tricks? Sure. But it takes a while. Over enough time, I'd say that even a leopard can change his spots. If he really wanted to.

Over time, you can build on a foundation of change. It takes work. It takes constant reminders. It takes the acknowledgment that you're not perfect, but you're working to bet better. And if you are consistent, over time, even people will notice. People who've once noticed you were one way will notice now that you're acting in a different way.

The change I've tried to put myself through is working. Slowly. But surely. The right people are noticing and that's a good thing. I have momentary slips. But luckily I catch myself. I will continue along this path I've set for myself, mainly because I have to. For the good of my family, I have to.

Life's long session keeps dealing me hands and I'm playing on a short stack with a limited roll. There is no place for tilt. If the river's kind to me, I'll be able to keep playing.

Who Are Also Disbanded

2009-04-21T20:56:00.001-05:00

In light of Al's video post of classic thrash, here's some updated material from bands, who, as they say, "are also disbanded...."

Two From Coroner:

Two From Carcass:

And a Lick Loll:

Every Day Sends Future To Past

2009-04-21T13:58:00.002-05:00

Every breath leaves one less to my last.

I'd attribute that quote, but those who've heard it know where it's from and those who haven't could not care less. Still, it's appropriate for me on this anniversary of my birth.

First off, I want to thank all the folks who've sent me birthday wishes via text message, email, Facebook messages and even kickass blog posts.

Secondly, I think I'm going to have to acknowledge a change in these here parts of the web. I hardly post anymore because, quite frankly, it's difficult to both come up with a poker-themed post and find the time to write something witty and insightful. So without sounding too much like a cop out, I'll be posting more about my mundane life and hopefully get some poker content in here and there. Hell, if UpForPoker can re-work their motif, well then I can certainly be a weak copy cat.

Also, occasionally I'll send out a Twitter, mainly when I've been drinking and feeling like I'm mildly entertaining. Be forewarned, my comedy is meta-comedy, only funny weeks, even months later. (Cue "guy bets half a sandwich" joke)

Back to me turning 41....

There are a couple of reasons I know I'm aging. Take last night for example. I was out doing what I do on Mondays, eating, drinking, whatever, then playing some cards. A friend was in town from up North, my old haunting grounds. This buddy of mine was the original participant with me in the very first Procedure(tm). I joke, but I seriously need to trademark that, just in case the term makes it into Pauly's book.

Anyway, I'm sitting at GucciRick's 10-handed poker table and need to relieve myself. For some reason I felt like drinking the Bud Lights (a.k.a. "The Bane of My Bowels") left in the refrigerator. Apparently, while I was away, I was dealt a hand but didn't get back in time to play it. I knew it was a good hand since both Rick and TheMark gave me shit about taking too long in the restroom.

I guess I folded pocket Jacks.

And yes, the flop was J-hi, rainbow.

And yes, Frank the Tank, flopped a set of 2's and doubled up against pocket 9's (don't ask).

And yes, had my bladder been able to control itself for just a wee bit (See? Meta-humor) longer, I'd have flopped set over set and won a $750 pot.

Here's why I'm old.

I didn't even get mad, or even mildly upset. Sure I rooted for Frank to turn or river quads, but still, it didn't tilt me in the least. I played marginally well after that until I got tired and gambled my profits away. I broke just about even, went home and slept.

When I woke up, I was another year older.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

(More meta-humor there, you know 'cause, like, I don't have hair. And that's a phrase used on shampoo bottles. Which I wouldn't need. Well, not that much. I like to avoid scalp problems by shampooing anyway. So maybe it's not meta-humor. But it could be. It depends on the delivery. Pretend right now that I nailed the delivery and this will be funny.)

Believe The Hype

2009-04-09T15:58:00.001-05:00

I personally can't wait for this.

Lost Vegas
by
Dr. Pauly.

'nuff said.

Proposition Wager

2009-03-31T11:27:00.002-05:00

If you've attended one of my home games, you are aware of one of its growing traditions: The Classic Rock Chanel Prop Bet

The rules are quite simple and the game is so unobtrusive that running this game during a poker night can only add to the fun.

In a nutshell, while we listen to the digital cable classic rock channel, each player that wants to play picks a classic rock song and artist. Whoever's artist plays first wins the prop bet from the other players. If you get the song correct too (a rarity, but it does happen), you get paid the bonus bet. In many cases, we'll either play $2/$5 or $1/$3 for the artist/song.

The rules also stipulate that you can only change your pick once someone wins. We generally keep a white board tally of people's choices. Last weekend in Asheville, at Lee Jones' homegame, I got crushed. I was playing my choices and as Otis' surrogate and neither of us hit all night. So for each prop bet, I was paying double. The only thing I managed to win was a side bet with Lee that either The James Gang or Joe Walsh would play before The Eagles. I should've got some odds, but I was so confident I'd win, I took a 1:1 payoff.

Last night, nearing the end of a Gucci Rick homegame, Otis opened the door for some prop betting, something we don't normally do there. Pretty much the same game, but instead of an artist/song structure, it was artist only. But the stakes were $20. Otis, Broc, and TheMark each opted in with Meatloaf, Credence, and Led Zeppelin respectively. At nearly the last minute, I picked Steve Miller Band since that's almost a gimme.

Very next song: The Joker. Ship it. $60 win.

TheMark, disillusioned with the game, opted to discontinue playing. I told him that he should take a risk and pick Edgar Winter. Next song, Free Ride. TheMark just hung his head and played with his iPhone. Well, the obvious choice for me there, after Broc and Otis held strong with their original picks, was to leverage the Led Zeppelin pick from TheMark.

A few songs later - Dazed and Confused. Ship it. $40 more.

Broc then bailed and now it was only me and Otis. Well, you know what happened. Otis switched to Boston, and that opened the door for me to make the tilt pick of Meatloaf myself.

Unfortunately, the game broke at about 2:15 and we went home. I left before Otis, but apparently not before Meatloaf hit the TV. A few more hands and I'd have pulled off the trifecta.

Word on the street is that Falstaff is running hot at this game too. There's a showdown coming, I can feel it.

Hello, It's Me

2009-03-26T16:49:00.001-05:00

Well then.

I've not posted in quite some time. Being too lazy to look at my archives, this may be the longest post drought of my blogging "career." Things have changed for me in the past few weeks. We'll get into that in a moment.

First off, Mastadon weekend was everything it should have been. You may have seen me parading around in videos or pics; it was obvious I had a good time. To everyone that managed to be a part of it, no matter how small, thanks for making it as fun as it was. I'd do it again in a split second.

Not soon after that weekend, in fact the very next week, I received some less than flattering feedback concerning my performance at my job. It was rather harsh. The worst in about 15 years since I was but a young buck out of school. Was it fair? Well, that's not for me to say. Other co-workers who know the reality of it say it wasn't, but that is immaterial after the fact. Life isn't fair, I think we all know that.

If anything good was going to come of it, then it would have to be me to make it that way. I really took an honest look at myself and realized a very important fact about myself. I get frustrated at the drop of a hat and wear my frustration on my sleeve. It's as if I expect those around me to register my frustration and change their ways. That's downright stupid. In fact, it's a bit arrogant. And that's not the adjective I want associated with me, for when I see it in others, it's disgraceful.

There's no doubt I was frustrated at work. Several decisions made by others around me seemed obviously incorrect to me and my reaction was far from ideal. It's just not a good idea to show your "support" by reacting in a negative way. All that was brought home to me during my review, the severity of which really took me by surprise. It made me think real hard about myself and I came to a few conclusions that even have effected my home life.

Let me give you a little example.

MrsBlood and I were leaving for my son's gymnastics meet, an overnight stay down in Columbia. As it so happens quite frequently, just as we're pulling out of the driveway, MrsBlood asks me to stop the car because she's forgotten the directions. I obliged and she quickly returned to the car, saying "Thanks for not getting mad at me." I told her that my getting mad at her the previous ten times didn't prevent her from forgetting this time.

And that's really what it comes down to. Getting mad, getting frustrated - it doesn't help matters at all. It's counterproductive. But unfortunately for me, it's been my gut, initial reaction to so many things at work and at home that it's made me a worse person.

So for the past three weeks, I've tried to improve. It's amazing how many times per day I catch myself about to think or say something negative about something. I have no reason on this Earth to be negative. None whatsoever. Otis blogs about being a lucky guy to have the life he has and it's the same way for me. I love my wife (and she's getting hotter by the day), I love my kids (they're perfect to me), but it's been apparent that for a while I didn't feel the same about myself.

I can tie all this into poker somehow, because the above was basically a long description of me being on an ever-increasing amount of life-tilt for no real reason. It's taking effort to look at things constructively rather than destructively, but I believe I'm getting better at it. There's no doubt my poker results are correlating well with the change I've made. My only hopes is that I can continue to improve and make it a more permanent part of my behavior.

I may be beating myself up over something small and insignificant, but I really don't think I have anything to lose by trying to be a better person as a result, even if the impetus was unjust.

And with that, I'll be back to blogging.

Buying Vowels

2009-02-25T09:22:00.004-05:00

I've said it many times. In fact, there's a chance I heard it from Otis first. Regardless, when you've reached the stage in life I have, you tend to focus more of your mental energy on the happiness of others. For me, as long as my wife and kids are happy and healthy, I can handle anything. All I ask, however, is just one small favor.

Give me Something To Look Forward To(tm)

As such, the above saying has morphed into an acronym - STLFT. Being the wordsmith that he is, Otis coined the aforementioned grouping of letters "SteelFoot."

This weekend is a SteelFoot. G-Rob is calling it Mastodon weekend. Whatever it is, it could get messy.

Stuff that may happen, people who might be here:

- Charlotte gang is coming. Falstaff, Special-K, Brian the Red
- Columbia folk is coming. Big Pirate
- Seattle folk is coming. Dr. Chako
- Dwarves are coming. Iggy
- Drunktards are coming. TripJax ;)
- Poor Otis Substitutes are coming. Dr. Jeff
- Poker Book Authors are coming. Lee Jones
- Thursday night poker crew may show up. Rocket, Backmeister
- Insane Canadians are coming. BamBam, Pebbles
- Fine dining will occur.
- Poker will be played.
- Drinks will be drunk.

- Oh yeah. The reason this is happening. AlCantHang and BoyGenius will be in town.

Just to play it safe, I'm evacuating my house. I'm taking Friday off from work and will be sipping my first dirty martini at PFChang's at 2pm. Where things go from there is anyone's guess. But you guys are smart. You can make "educated" guesses.

Metal Monday Volume 3

2009-02-16T11:03:00.006-05:00

Not much pokery stuff to write about, so I'll fall back on my other habit that will never die.

I have a couple of recommendations that may be relatively obscure to most mainstream metal listeners. Each of them are heavily influenced by other bands that are far more established.

First up is a band I like to call mini-Slayer. They've been dubbed heirs to the Thrash Throne by Slayer themselves, here's Demiricous with To Serve Is To Destroy (the intro riff is my default ring tone):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZdgtv7EAFQ

Then comes a Killswitch Engage-esque band out of Australia, produced by Killswitch's own Adam Dutkiewicz. You'll hear some familiarity in the guitar tone and there's a pretty decent killer riff mid-way through the song. Boneywards by Parkway Drive:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJe5AB5N-LI

Finally, as many of you have pointed out, the music is OK, but you can't stand the vocals. I can understand that, it's an acquired taste. As such, here's an In Flames cover guitarist doing Pinball Map with electronic drums and bass. The video is great because he harmonizes with himself in minor-thirds in many spots. If you don't groove to this, you are probably busy with your acoustic. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eO8ybZuzb8

Rare Air

2009-02-05T11:06:00.003-05:00

I used to play heavily in G-Vegas' underground scene. Based on the well-documented happenings of late 2007, my rate of live play is somewhat decreased.

But not this week.

Played Monday night at the Gooch's.
Playing tonight at my old Thursday night home game haunting grounds.
Playing Friday at my house
Playing Saturday night at Falstaff's.

At what cost? Oh. Only paying for the Mrs' 20th high school reunion trip later this year. I guess that's fair...

The Invisible Hand

2009-01-25T17:32:00.002-05:00

We don’t live in an ideal world. In the world of physics, most concepts are taught from within the artificial confines of a frictionless environment. It’s a smart way to eliminate minor effects from the overall behavior of a system. Only when the time comes to model real-world events does friction enter the equation.

Poker is similar. Ideally, poker is a zero-sum game. I win a pot, you lose a pot. Your chips go from your stack to mine in an equal but opposite reaction. Well, almost. Poker has friction. The little bit of energy generated by the transaction. You know it as rake.

If the pot is big enough, you barely notice it. What’s a few dollars to the house when you double up through some moron? If the dealers are savvy enough, you barely notice them reach into the pot, remove part of it, and place it into the drop. Online poker does it too. It’s usually the last thing you’ll notice on a hand history.

The poker population is skewed. Several sources claim that the winners are outnumbered by the losers by a factor of 9 to 1. Part of that reason is the rake. Many break-even players and small losers would find themselves winners in an ideal, frictionless environment.

Here are some statistics just for a frame of reference.

I’ve been playing some PLO8 on FullTilt, small stakes, only a $25 buy-in game. In the last month or so, I’ve logged 13,099 hands.

Amount won: $293.40 for a 4.48 PTBB/100 win rate.
During that same time, thanks to having 27% rakeback, I’ve received $144.57 for my efforts. My winnings, which are modest, are only 2x the amount I received via rakeback. Now, in reality, my contribution to the rake is nearly 4x that amount (1/.27 = 3.7) If there were no rake, I’d be up a much larger amount. That’s a serious amount of friction for any player to overcome. Few people recognize it and few do anything about it.

Now, just to be clear, I understand rake has its place. It’s not easy to set up a poker game, online or live. I host enough home games to know that providing the environment for a fun, successful game is work. It’s a service, and people are willing to pay for it. But if you ever think seriously enough about the setting you’re playing in, you’ll realize that the invisible opponent at the table is perhaps the one most difficult to beat.